The Breadwinner (2017)

“We are a land whose people are its greatest treasure. We are at the edges of empires at war with each other. We are a fractured land in the claws of the Hindu Kush mountains, scorched by the fiery eyes of the northern deserts.” – Parvana

Number of Times Seen – 1 (5 May 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A young girl living in Afghanistan must try and find a way to help support her family after her father is taken away by the Taliban.

My Take on it – I am usually not the biggest fan of animated films made by some of the lesser known companies.

I knew nothing about this film before watching it besides the fact that it was nominated for both and Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature in 2017.

This film has a very moving and poignant story that is able to work on so many levels.

They find a way to depict a story like this in a very frank and open manner and that actually allows things to feel even more realistic.

The intertwining of both a real world story and a fairy tale being told to the characters also helps keep things intriguing and interesting throughout.

The story arc of the film is done in a nice pace and it allows us to feel the tension in the air in this changing society from start to finish.

They found a way to show a very unsympathetic group of people and region populated by combatants and non-combatants and found a way to make us feel much sympathy for these characters and situations in a very understanding way.

This film was suspenseful from start to finish since the viewer constantly wants to know what will eventually happen to this family that has been left to fend for themselves in such a dangerous area of the world.

Definitely deserving of its accolades!

Bottom Line – Very moving story that works on numerous levels. The way that they depict this kind of story in a frank manner works really well because it allows things to feel even more realistic. The story arc moves at a great pace as we get to feel the tension in the air of a changing society. The movie is able to show us a region of the world that is filled with combatants and non-combatants that is not usually met with much sympathy and they present things in a very sympathetic and understanding way. It’s completely understandable why a film like this would garner both an Oscar and Golden Globe Nomination for Best Animated Film in 2017. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Third animated feature film co-produced by the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon and their third feature to be nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar. Their previous Oscar nominations were for The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014). (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)