Ivan Kander
Nominated for an Oscar in 2013, Buzkashi Boys isn’t normally the type of short I gravitate towards. Coming from the perspective of an internet curator, It feels like a film from the old guard—that is, it’s a long prestige sort of picture about a wartorn landscape (in this case, contemporary Afghanistan). But, despite the length, it’s hard to ignore the craft on display. What starts as a simple coming-of-age story of two young boys from different backgrounds—Ahmad the street urchin and Rafi, a blacksmith’s son—slowly builds to a very emotional climax, tugging hard at your heartstrings. Yeah, that’s right…it’s the sort of stuff made for Academy voters.
What I like most about Buzkashi Boys (and there’s a lot to like) is the nuanced way that director Sam French handles the war-ravaged setting of Kabul. To be direct, this isn’t a war film, but the effects of war are everywhere. As the boys clamber around ruins and piles of destruction (a derelict bus graveyard is especially effective), the message is clear without ever being overt. And, thus, when tragedy strikes, it’s all the more poignant.
Despite revolving around the foreign sport of Buzkashi (essentially polo with a dead goat carcass serving as a proxy for the ball), the film is also surprisingly relatable. These two kids both want more out of their lives—much like American boys would dream of playing professional baseball or football. Great cinema has the ability to transcend cultural boundaries in order to convey universal themes. Buzkashi Boys is a perfect representative example.
Filmmaker French worked with an amazing team of people to make this short possible—it’s one of the first international productions filmed entirely in Afghanistan. The cast and crew were literally dodging rocket attacks while shooting. And, that sort of authenticity shows through in the final product—from the locations to the striking cinematography to the relatable performances.
Following the film’s Oscar buzz, Buzkashi was picked up by the folks at Vice where it now streams for free on YouTube. While I wish they would have gone with a smaller watermark (seriously, that thing is ginormous), it’s great to see Oscar caliber material such as this make its way online for free. An emotionally profound experience, Buzkashi makes for fine #longshort Saturday viewing.