Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary follows six individuals in modern Pakistan who seek to help change the face of the country as it emerges from its violent, sometimes repressive, reputation. Cricket-star-turned-progressive-politician Imran Khan, model and actress Vaneeza Ahmad and singer-songwriter Arieb Azhar take center stage. Their disparate efforts from political, artistic and cultural perspectives highlight the work that needs to be done in creating a Pakistan less identified with oppressive Islamic movements such as the Al Qaida. Journalist Laiba Yousafzai speaks with survivors of the Taliban, documenting the coercive tactics that have forced poor and uneducated rural men to perform unthinkable acts, many of which haunt them with regret. A former mujahid and a trucker both reflect on their families and the ways in which these roles have compromised their integrity as fathers and brothers. Islam certainly lurks in the background as a unifying theme—more pervasive for some than others—but certainly, any consideration of modern Pakistan would be remiss without it. The cinematography portrays a lovely, rural country with chaotic cities bursting with color and activity. As a documentary, it lacks a narrative arc save that the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. In this, Pakistan is herself the winner, stimulating deeper consideration of a country frustratingly stereotyped in the West as culturally and politically repressive.