Panj é asr (At Five in the Afternoon) (2003)

I haven't posted anything in awhile. I guess I've been busy, I mean I've been working more lately but I haven't exactly felt that inspired either. Right now I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life, which sounds really dramatic, but it's really not, it's been a long time coming. It's mostly good changes. I feel like I have more focus than I've had- maybe ever!

I've still been watching movies, I always make time for that! One of these films was [i]Five in the Afternoon[/i] which takes place in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. We are introduced to Noqreh a driven young woman who wishes to be treated as an equal, who dreams of becoming the future president. These grand ideals are contrasted with the bleakness of her life. Her elderly father leads them to a new home after refugees take over their rustic home. He is obviously weak and bears the burden of taking care of his daughters'. Noqreh's sister has recently lost her husband in a truck accident, and her malnutritioned baby is starving to death.
It's incredibly sad, though there is a sense of hope, which makes the film a bit more bearable. There are some wonderfully subtle comic moments which take shape thanks to a sweet, eager suitor after the would-be-president. The young man, a refugee, helps Noqreh with campaign posters as well as looking for copies of campaign speeches so Noqreh can get insight into how other presidents have gained the trust of their people.
The film is mesmerizing and meditative. Some shots took my breath away. The stunning visuals add to the contrasts. There's bleakness (of their lives as well as the desert landscape) versus scenes with shots of colour (the umbrellas and the burkas,) along with despair being tinged with hope and laughter.

[center][img]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f306/laure9/Reviewed%20Films/fiveintheafternoon.jpg[/img][/center]



[left]There is a beautifully haunting poem by Lorca containing the name of the film, that is spoken aloud by two characters in the film which I feel adds to the film's already strong artistic value. Lorca's work is both powerful and important. During the Spanish Civil War he was dragged into a field and shot by soldiers in an attempt to obliterate his revolutionary works. This backfired as he became a mythic hero. I read [i]Blood Wedding[/i] in my Modern Drama class. It introduced me to a writer that was so unique, I could not have fathomed that such compelling literature existed beforehand. [/left]

[left]The excerpt read is from the poem, [i]Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias.[/i] Here's the section read in the film:[/left]


[left][i]Cogida[/i] and death[/left]



At five in the afternoon.
It was exactly five in the afternoon.
A boy brought the white sheet
at five in the afternoon.
A frail of lime ready prepared
at five in the afternoon.
The rest was death, and death alone
at five in the afternoon.

The wind carried away the cottonwool
at five in the afternoon.
And the oxide scattered crystal and nickel
at five in the afternoon.
Now the dove and the leopard wrestle
at five in the afternoon.
And a thigh with a desolate horn
at five in the afternoon.
The bass-string struck up
at five in the afternoon.
Arsenic bells and smoke
at five in the afternoon.
Groups of silence in the corners
at five in the afternoon.
And the bull alone with a high heart!
At five in the afternoon.
When the sweat of snow was coming
at five in the afternoon,
when the bull ring was covered in iodine
at five in the afternoon.
Death laid eggs in the wound
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
Exactly at five o'clock in the afternoon. A coffin on wheels in his bed
at five in the afternoon.
Bones and flutes resound in his ears
at five in the afternoon.
Now the bull was bellowing through his forehead
at five in the afternoon.
The room was iridescent with agony
at five in the afternoon.
In the distance the gangrene now comes
at five in the afternoon.
Horn of the lily through green groins
at five in the afternoon.
The wounds were burning like suns
at five in the afternoon,
and the crowd was breaking the windows
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
Ah, that fatal five in the afternoon!
It was five by all the clocks!
It was five in the shade of the afternoon!
-Frederico Garcia Lorca

Edit: It's my friend Sarah's 27th birthday today and I just wanted to let her know that I'm thinking about her! She's in Italy right now!! So jealous!! All I can do is look at this pic and drool!

[img]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f306/laure9/Compelling%20Images/italy_venice_01.jpg[/img]
[center][font=Arial][color=purple]Photo by Urs Hauenstein[/color][/font][/center]