(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)
Warning/Heads up: There will be scenes of violence against women, guns, and blood. Viewer’s discretion is advised. Enjoy the review!
One of the most recent trends that Hollywood is starting to hopefully change for the better is representation. Films like Get Out, The Big Sick, and Black Pantherare doing well, critically and financially, and while they are only a few examples, they are making sure to pave the way for more stories to be told through different perspectives. It’s something that needs to happen, and people need to learn that just because you aren’t of that character’s nationality, race, or whatever, it doesn’t mean you can’t connect to them or their struggle. Sadly, most don’t seem to understand or seem to have empathy toward hearing stories about others that they can’t relate to. This is why a film like The Breadwinnerwas important. Released back in late 2017, The Breadwinner was the newest film from Cartoon Saloon and director Nora Twomey, the director of The Secret of Kells. It was also executively produced by Angelina Jolie, and distributed by GKids. It won critical acclaim, won the Annie for Best Foreign/Indie Feature, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards and The Golden Globes, but lost out to both awards to Coco. It sadly didn’t perform well, but thanks to being put on Netflix, people are now seeing what was subjectively the best animated film of 2017, a year that had very little competition, and you had to be on the lookout for smaller/indie viewings of the actual good movies. So, did The Breadwinner deserve to be crowned the best animated film of 2017? Well, let’s find out.
The story revolves around a young girl named Parvana, voiced by Saara Chaudry. One day, after helping her father in the market, her father is arrested for being against the Taliban, and other false crimes. With no real man to help out Parvana and her family, consisting of her mother, baby brother, and older sister, she does what will help get her family the help and care that they need. After some failed attempts, she decides to disguise herself as a boy to get work around the city, in which she lives. Along the way, she meets some friends, and finds a way to get her father out of prison.
What I think is the best element of the film is how real it feels. These might be 2D characters, but the way they act, talk, and interact with each other feels so grounded. Just because this is animated, it doesn’t mean it can’t bring you into a world that is accurate in depicting life different from our own. It also means that this is not an animated film for children. You will see guns fired at the lead, women getting beaten, and blood. It does not shy away about how much the country this takes place in is run by religious beliefs, and how extreme certain individuals are. However, it also doesn’t make it just a miserable and overly exaggerated version of that country. Even among the more radical individuals, there are people there that are kind, caring, and do not always side with the ones who are way too invested with their beliefs. Not everyone in this country is a monster, and this film brings humanity to the world around our lead character. Even characters that you would think were terrible, end up being more complex than you would have thought. There is a psychotic young teen that is in the film, who gets a heavy dose of reality for his loyalty to the Taliban. It could have been so easy to turn this into a propaganda-style film, but Nora and her team made sure to give the people that live there actual character.
I haven’t even gotten to how good the animation is. While there are points where you can tell what is a CGI model, the 2D animation has more of a realistic flow to it. Yeah, they are cartoon characters, but that doesn’t mean they have to be bouncy and something more like Storks or Hotel Transylvania. It would have looked distracting, because this is a rather mature story with very mature elements. I also adored how vibrant and beautiful the film was. Sure, a lot of the color pallet was specific shades of brown, but they also threw in bright colors for clothing, spices, food, water, and that’s not even counting the beautiful 2D puppet animation. From time to time, the lead character will be telling a story that uses that style of animation. It reminds me of how the story was handled in The Fall, where the stuntman would tell the young girl a fantastical story that would mirror aspects of reality. I won’t say what happens, but both the A and B story do connect, so pay attention. I also liked the actors. I give whoever the casting director was so much credit, as he or she actually casted all middle-eastern actors. Saara Chaudry Is Parvana, and she really carries this movie. She is strong, determined, but also vulnerable. She owns this movie. However, the other actors are fantastic like Soma Bhatia, Ali Badshah, Shaista Latif, Laara Sadiq, Kawa Ada, and Noorin Gulamgaus. They all work well off each other, and make this story work.
While I think this movie is downright amazing, and you should all watch it no matter what I criticize about it, I do have a few small criticisms. The first one is with the film’s ending. Now, it ends probably as it should, but I do wish it was more fulfilling. Like I said above, you can also sometimes tell where CGI is used, but it’s very rare.
The Breadwinner is the best animated film of 2017 in my opinion, and one of the most important animated films of the decade. While I wish it did better at the box office, and that’s a problem GKids consistently has with their films, it’s a movie everyone needs to see. An animated film, set in the middle-east, with strong middle-eastern characters is rare, and it’s worth supporting. Of course, it’s available right now, as of writing this review, on Netflix, but I think you should support the film and GKids by buying the DVD/Blu-ray of the film. It’s a one-of-a-kind animated film that every animation fan needs to get their hands on. While I do love this movie, and everyone should go support it, they should also go support the next film that’s getting a review. Next time, we will be reviewing the new Wes Anderson animated feature, Isle of Dogs. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review, and I will see you all next time!
Rating: Criterion/Essentials
The Other Side of Animation 