Movie Review- Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame

‘Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame’ is a film directed by Hana Makmalbhaf in 2007. The movie takes place in Afghanistan, where the main character, a little girl named Bakhtay encounters various obstacles such as poverty, war, male domination and bullying in the journey to achieve her dreams. It starts off by showing the viewers Bakhtay’s home, a cave which is dark and filthy, but furnished with basic living necessities. Bakhtay’s daily routine is to take care of her sister when her mother is at work. However, her duty is interrupted by her neighbour, Abbas, a boy who is reading his schoolbook in a very loud voice. He challenges her to read but obviously she fails to because she has not been to school. Her journey begins here, with a strong desire to learn and to hear funny stories at school, a dream to succeed in life.

            Poverty is endured by the residents in Afghanistan. In order to go to school, one must at least have a pencil and a notebook, but this is not as easy as it sounds for Bakhtay. She sells eggs for bread and then bread for money in the market. Her small body size is a contrast to the adults who are walking pass her. There is once when some of her eggs accidently drop onto the floor, shattering into pieces. Viewers easily empathise with her for what she has gone through at her age. Unfortunately, getting money for a notebook is not the end of all the obstacles.

            Male domination is portrayed throughout the film. Most of the males are seen having education at schools whereas females are working during the day. The school in Bakhtay’s town only offers education for males. This leads to the need for her to cross the river in order to get to a girls’ school. Carrying her only notebook and her mother’s lipstick as a pen, she hikes a small hill before reaching the river, and this is where she meets a gang of boys who are playing war games. Her notebook is torn apart and the pages are folded into paper planes, just like her dream, being taken away bit by bit. The boys mimic the war in Afghanistan by forcing her to stay in a ditch and threaten to throw stones at her. They cover her face with a paper bag as they think that it is a sin for girls to show out their hair. This shows that how inhumane war is; knowing that in real life it will be hundred times worse than a child’s play.

            As a girl, Bakhtay is a brave one. She is the one who is not afraid of the boys and first to escape among the girls who are kept captives by the boys. In the middle of the boys’ game play, she rushes out into the ‘battlefield’ to get back her notebook. Her bravery and perseverance have brought her to the girls’ school across the river. In the end on her way home with Abbas, they meet the boys once again. In the war game, Abbas acts to be ‘dead’ after he is ‘shot’ by the boys and the boys immediately run after Bakhtay. He keeps telling her to ‘die’ in order to be free. The story ends with the scene when Bakhtay closes her eyes ready to fall onto the ground.

            The movie illustrates the meaning of ‘to die to set free’. This is true in Abbas and Bakhtay’s game play with the boys and also in real war. However, as a viewer, I personally think that the film omits the main point at the beginning of the story, that is Bakhtay’s dream to learn to read, and it ends up showing the viewers what war is and how it affects people’s life. The film could have end better by giving an idea of how Bakhtay will be in the future, not just leaving viewers hanging in the midst. As a viewer, I give this movie a rating of 3.5 out of 5.