This past weekend my husband and I rented a couple of movies. While the first was so bad I won't even mention it, I highly recommend the other, "The Stoning of Soraya M."
Based on a true story - this wasn't a fancy movie with a lot of special effects, or even a complicated plot - the title pretty much says it all. But to say it was real and gut-wrenching isn't giving this movie enough credit. Even squinting at the subtitles on our little 19" TV, I felt like I was part of the village where the story was taking place. I wanted to scream at the injustice, and cry for not only Soraya, but everyone who has and will continue to meet this fate in a modern-day culture where women are at best second-class citizens, and more commonly just property with about as much status and rights as a head of livestock.
If you do watch it, be aware that the actual stoning is intense and brutal. In a world where almost every movie we watch is jam-packed full of action, with twisted plot lines (when there is a plot), huge dramatic explosions, and gory computer-enhanced deaths, I wouldn't have expected "The Stoning of Soraya M" to profoundly affect me the way it did. Don't expect to feel uplifted after this movie - as the credits rolled my husband and I sat in stunned silence. Despite the absence of a warm-fuzzy after this movie, I had the feeling I'd just watched something profound and important, rather than an empty and pointless fabrication meant to stun us with special effects.
I'll quit blabbering on...just check it out and see for yourself.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1277737/
1 comment:
I just finished watching this movie, and I don't even know what to say. You're right--this is a profound film, deeply moving. I felt sick at heart afterwards, especially knowing that it is a true story. It is so hard to believe that this kind of thing still goes on.
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