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War and Love in Kabul

War and Love in Kabul

(War and Love in Kabul), Helga Reidemeister / D, 2009
original version / English and Czech subtitles, 86 min

Hossein and Shaima fell in love as children, but their paths diverged during puberty. The illiterate Hossein went to war with the Taliban in order to make money to live, while Shaima was ordered by her father to become the third wife of a man a full 40 years her senior. Nevertheless, years later their paths have crossed once again. Though Hossein has lost a leg in the war and Shaima has a daughter of five, their love for one another has not faded. But they cannot live together. Shaima has filed for divorce, though neither her family nor Hossein's approve of their love. A number of factors are blocking their road to happiness: different ethnicity, traditional family honour and strict tribal laws. Despite threats of violence from the male members of their families, however, the two continue to meet. This film by German director Helga Reidemeister offers a sober but intimate portrait of a Romeo and Juliet-style drama in a country that for decades has known nothing but conflict and poverty.