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Review: Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujahedin
By Hana Siddiqi 30/11/2001
Never before had I heard such utter silence upon exiting a movie theater as I did after seeing the film
Jung in the Land of the Mujahedin. A glimpse of the poverty, pain and plight of the Afghani people is no joking matter, when seen in its true light. If you need a reality-check, a check on your social consciousness, or a sneak peak into what's going on somewhere outside of America, then the three Italian filmmakers, Fabrizio Lazzaretti, Giuseppe Petitto, and Albert Vendemmiati, have a film for you. No fancy word play can even begin to describe what I witnessed visually, mentally, and emotionally as I sat in that movie theatre.
Jung is one of the most heart-wrenching, tear-jerking documentaries to enter New York's independent theatres, and the timing couldn't be better considering the political climate and current events monopolizing the media. Presented by Karousel Films as well as the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, this film not only documents a war-torn country that has been largely neglected by most of the world over two decades of destruction; but also follows the construction of a hospital in the Panjshir Valley when the filmmakers team up with surgeon Gino Strada, founder of the relief organization Emergency, and nurse Kate Rowlands. Following the travels of Strada and Rowlands gives the film a heartwarming touch as you experience with them their feelings towards their surroundings and their patients.
Although the hospital's primary goal is to treat the victims of landmines, civilians, soldiers as well as women, children and elderly who come in with bullet wounds, burnt bodies, and shrapnel are treated just the same. A young boy not more than ten years of age, bloodied from a landmine, is brought to the hospital in dire need of an amputation. As the doctors prepare a rusty saw for the operation, he pleads for them to give him some type of drugs to put him to sleep so that he doesn't have to experience the pain.
In general, the children is shown in the film are of a different ilk than what Western viewers are accustomed to - children whose maturity level peaks by the age of nine, who understand adult responsibilities and who, unfortunately, handle pain and death all too well because it has been such a commonplace occurrence in their few years of life.
Small children are shown in Jung mutilated, with stumps in place of limbs. They are dotted bright red from head to toe from shrapnel and bullet wounds as they lie helpless with dried tears on their ashy cheeks.
This film documents human suffering in a way never seen before. Graphic and touching, the camera is not only in the operating room of the hospital, but it is also on the battlefield amidst the tanks and firings.
The white-bearded, charismatic Burhanuddin Rabbani, president of the Northern Alliance, is shown in a meeting with the hospital workers. Also shown is the recently assassinated Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah Massoud, known as the "Lion of Panjshir," who is seen in action on the battlefield giving commands to his soldiers.
But the battlefield is not where Jung makes its impact. It is the plight of the people that pulls at the heartstrings of the viewer with the call to God of "Allah! Allah!" being strongest not when said by the soldiers during combat, but when spoken with absolute faith by the victims in their shattered states, calling out to the only hope in such a savage war.
Jung leaves audiences with an unexpectedly strong bittersweet aftertaste of Afghanistan's people, especially the children. Media coverage of Afghanistan is often nothing short of ugly. However the beauty, simplicity, and courage shown by the people through this film exemplify a truth that rarely comes out to the public.
It is no surprise then that Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujahedin is this year's recipient of the Nestor Almendros prize for "courageous and committed" filmmaking. The next step should be to make this film available nationwide, if not worldwide, to give all people an opportunity to see reality in Afghanistan.
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