Joy of Madness DVD Review:

In 2003, fourteen year old Hana Makhmalbaf took a digital video along with her to follw her sister Samira’s efforts at casting actors taken from the streets of Kabul for her new film, At Five in the Afternoon (Hana’s age explains the low angle shots in the film, from a youngster’s point of view). This is a behind-the-scenes documentary of a highly unusual variety, one that stands on its own apart from the film it comments on. What emerges is more engaging than what is provided by many worthy documentaries, introducing us to an improvised fresco of people from different walks of life who, in their eagerness, or frequent reluctance to make the film, in the business of cajoling and bargaining with the director, reveal much about life in post-war Afghanistan. What is more, they do so frequently with good humour and often fatalistic irony.

The opening scene shows us Samira intervening in a debate between women arguing for a female President - the idea is a theme of her film - and getting roundly talked down. After this we follow Samira and her crew as they scout the streets of Kabul in search of volunteers for her film; some of those interviewed can be seen in At Five in the Afternoon, but one of the most striking things about The Joy of Madness is the way in which self-censorship causes many people to back out of a project that clearly fascinates them, as if in fear of the contamination of a foreign culture. The Taliban, the Americans, poverty, religion, all of these come up in the back and forward between Samira and her casting choices. Samira’s courage and determination make her the hero of this film. Just how strange a figure she must cut in these settings becomes clear as the film progresses, as we see her in contrast to the other women around her. Occasionally, in her sparring, and her engaging charm offensive, we see her lose her patience, so this is not a family compliment from one sister to another. Oddly, she never tells us much about the film to be made, leaving the viewer in the dark, if you haven’t seen it.

The title is from a traditional song played in the film, though it’s meaning still seems a little obscure in context. How much of the film’s impact is due to art and how much to luck I couldn’t say. The young Hana is certainly serendipitous. My only regret about this film was that it is unaccompanied by any background information about At Five in the Afternoon, for which ideally this would be the B-side featurette, its makers or its success. Not everyone will be aware who Samira is, that she is actually Iranian, not an Afghan, for instance.

Other than a scene selection, and English subtitles, there are no extras relating to this film on the DVD.

Apart from the trailer for At Five in the Afternoon, there are others for Ramones: End of the Century, Mayor of the Sunset Strip, Coffee and Cigarettes, The Yes Men.



Dominic Gavin