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Afghan Star

EMAILPRINTZeitgeist Films

Afghan Star reviews
78
10.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 2 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Documentary

Written by:

Directed by: Havana Marking

Release Date:
Theatrical: June 26, 2009

Running Time: 87 minutes, Color

Origin: UK | Afghanistan

Language(s): English | Pashtu | Dari

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

After 30 years of Taliban and wartime rule, pop culture is creeping back into Afghanistan in the form of Afghan Star, an enormously popular American Idol–type contest. Filmmaker Havana Marking follows the dramatic stories of four of the contestants over three months, from regional auditions to the finals in Kabul, giving us a new, and more human, look at this troubled part of the world. (Zeitgeist Films)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Boston Globe Ty Burr

One of the most hopeful and heart-rending movies I've seen this year.

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100

San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel

A remarkable documentary.

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91

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Judging from this film, a pop cultural resurgence in Afghanistan seems ultimately unstoppable, even with a resurgent Taliban, if for no other reason than that 60 percent of the population is under 21. Also, this is a country, as we see again and again, that loves to sing.

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83

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

If nothing else, Afghan Star offers a reminder of how much has changed in Afghanistan from the late ’70s--when Kabul was a secular-oriented city with co-ed universities and a thriving nightclub scene--to the rise of the Taliban.

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80

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The movie uses the talent show Afghan Star as a prism through which to examine the fragmented tribal culture of Afghanistan as reflected in the backgrounds of four finalists (two of them women) and the public responses to their performances.

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80

The Hollywood Reporter Chris Barsanti

Wholly one-third of the country, some 11 million people, watched the finale. Marking's film is too astute to pretend that such fleeting things can bring about peaceful democracy, but it's also perfectly aware that they certainly can't hurt.

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80

Film Threat Whitney Borup

An inspiring, fun documentary.

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80

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Afghan Star goes much deeper, eloquently conveying the tensions, small victories and shattering setbacks of a fragile democracy struggling to regain a once-flourishing culture.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

If you believe that bringing the questionable virtues of "American Idol" to Afghanistan would do that beleaguered nation no favors, the remarkable documentary Afghan Star will change your mind in an instant.

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75

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Focusing on the contestants who make the initial cut -- two men and two women -- the film can't resist wringing some American Idol-style suspense from speculation about who the eventual victor will be. But the movie also leaves no doubt as to who the real winners are.

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75

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

The movie documents much more than a talent competition -- it documents a political movement.

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75

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams

Of all the films to come out the conflict, Afghan Star is the most provocative, because its message that people are essentially the same is a dubious, double-edge sword.

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75

New York Post V.A. Musetto

The show works pretty much the same as "Idol" does, with Afghans voting by cellphone for their favorite performers. But this is Afghanistan, where the Taliban still has power, not America.

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70

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Marking follows the finalists around on the last leg of their PR campaigns and captures something sweetly goofy, with an edge of creepy, about their aping of smarmy American self-promotion (kissing babies, etc).

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70

Variety Dennis Harvey

Not the slickest or most crowd-pleasing among many recent performance-competition docus, it's nonetheless absorbing for the light it casts on those many Afghanis who want an end to guns and fanaticism, and the return of a social liberalism.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

One of the more surreal docs to come down the pike in some time.

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60

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Fascinating and, when you see Afghan versions of Simon Cowell and Co. reacting to tryouts, a reminder of how fame and the thirst for it is the same in any language.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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