Mud City

Author(s): Connor Campbell
Location: Texas

“Mud City"

Directed by Milos Forman
Screenplay by Deborah Ellis
Score by Howard Shore

Principal Cast:

Shauzira- Benaf Dadachandji
Mrs. Weera- Rachel Weisz
Parvana- Keisha Castle-Hughes
Tom- Greg Kinnear
Barbara- Julie Bowen

Tagline: “In suffering, it is easy to slip from fierce determination to survive, to callous rejection of the needs of others"

Synopsis: In this compelling look at life in a Pakistani refugee camp, we follow Shauzira, who has run away from her unloving family to be free, dressed as a boy. Shauzira befriends a dog named Jasper while working for Afghani shepherds, and the two end up in a Pakistani refugee camp known as “Mud City” near Peshawar. There she works at the Widows Compound, an area for women and children with Mrs. Weera. Shauzira, irritated by what she sees, leaves for the city of Peshawar to earn money to travel to France to meet Parvana at the Eiffel Tower. Shuazira does odd jobs and resorts to digging through garbage for items to sell, and ends up begging and is falsely imprisoned. But then, a rich American named Tom rescues Shauzira by bribing police the police. Tom and his wife take Shauzira to their opulent vacation home in Dehli, India. Shauzira spends a week in India until she realizes she doesn’t need Tom & Barbara as much as others do, so she returns to “Mud City”, and finds other children who need Tom & Barbara. After breaking her foot in a food riot, Shauzira has time to think and ultimately decides to set of into Afghanistan with Mrs. Weera to nurse refugees and leaves Jasper with a child who needs him more. At the end of the film, Shauzira and Mrs. Weera go to France to meet Parvana. The final scene shows Shauzira & Parvana embracing at the Eiffel Tower.

What the press would say:

\Wow. This film is an instant classic. I was surprised to see that Parvana was such a minor role. The fact that we only see her when she is reading Shauzira’s letters, and at the end, we must wonder if Keisha will be ignored at the awards. But the way that Ellis wrote Parvana into the story was astonishing, with her reading one letter while walking the streets of Paris, and another in her home. They showed Parvana’s feelings about being free from the Taliban. Keisha does a phenomenal job as Parvana (as usual) and I hope that the Academy will still give her the nom she deserves. Benaf Dadachandji gives a glowing performance as the main character Shauzira. Benaf captures the emotions with such ease, and has given the best performance of the year. The Academy traditionally ignores kids but the character of Shauzira, who moves from a self-centered, impatient girl to an adult who realizes happiness may come from giving to others is just too appealing to ignore. Another great performances is Rachel Weisz as Mrs. Weera, a former phys ed teacher determined to change the lives of girls and women in Afghanistan. Rachel gives a great performance and captures the fact that she is Shauzira’s first real mother like figure, and she is my frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress. Greg Kinnear does a very good job as Tom, the rich American who has a heart of gold. Kinnear was perfect casting and although the role isn’t huge, he’s looking at a legitimate Oscar nod. Julie Bowen gives a tour de force performance as Barbara, Tom’s wife. Barbara has a lot of heart warming scenes with Shauzira, one of which reveals that Tom is sterile and Barbara wants a child more than anything and is just looking for a child to love. Deborah Ellis & Milos Forman rival Paul Haggis & Clint Eastwood for best writer-director team. I love how Ellis captured the characters’ emotions with silence and facial expressions as apposed to cheesy dialogue. Milos Forman has done it again, he’s managed to direct, hmmm let’s se, his 100th masterpiece is it. I love the way how the refugee camp is brought to life, complete with stifling heat, flies, unclean water, food distribution and UN tents. The streets of Peshawar and the desperation, anger and cruelty of its inhabitants are also vividly painted for the viewer. This is by far the best film of the year

Awards:

Best Picture
Best Director- Milos Forman
Best Actress- Benaf Dadachandji
Best Supporting Actor- Greg Kinnear
Best Supporting Actress- Keisha Castle Hughes
Best Supporting Actress- Julie Bowen
Best Supporting Actress- Rachel Weisz
Best Adapted Sreenplay- Deborah Ellis
Best Original Score
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction