western australia

international film festival

the swallows of kabul

The Swallows of Kabul - a sobering film

@JudyEv (382655)

Rockingham, Australia

January 21, 2021 5:39pm CST

We went to another of the Summer International Film Festival films recently. The Swallows of Kabul was an animated film showing the lives of two couples living under Taliban rule in Kabul, Afghanistan. The animation is beautifully done in watercolours but it is a very sobering film and gives ‘sensitive insights into tragedies many of us could never comprehend’. The violence and indifference to human suffering are in stark contrast to the romantic elements and only serves to highlight the horror of life under such a regime with its sharia law. Their treatment of women is incredibly barbaric. That’s the sixth festival film we’ve seen. We have six more to see and hopefully we’ll manage to get to them all. We go to Perth this afternoon to attend a wedding tomorrow so I’ll see you all on Sunday. Take care. I don’t have a photo of swallows but here is a robin about to take a leap of faith into the birdbath.

21 people like this

20 responses

@rebelann (117281)

• El Paso, Texas

22 Jan 21

That is a stunning photo. I can't imagine life like that. We're both so lucky not to live in a horrible place like that.

5 people like this

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@rebelann (117281)

• El Paso, Texas

22 Jan 21

I don't like to watch those kinds of films @JudyEv it's too depressing and I don't like being depressed

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

I came away very thankful for the life I live here.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

@rebelann Fair enough.

3 people like this

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@LadyDuck (502886)

• Italy

22 Jan 21

This little robin photo is beautiful. What is going on in Afghanistan is horrible, it has been like that from too many years.

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@LadyDuck (502886)

• Italy

24 Jan 21

@JudyEv No, unfortunately not, until selling war stuff makes some important people richer.

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@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

It is awful. I know it was only animation but the buildings were mostly destroyed with people living in poverty. Schools and universities just in ruins, not to mention how the citizens were treated.

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@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

@LadyDuck I'm sure you are right but I don't think that is going to happen any time soon.

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@kaylachan (84924)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

22 Jan 21

Cute. The photo I mean. Good to see films not hiding the realities of life. Makes me grateful to be an Americian.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

I think it's good to be occasionally reminded of how lucky we are to live where we do.

2 people like this

@rakski (156921)

• Philippines

22 Jan 21

is that happening in present time?

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@rakski (156921)

• Philippines

22 Jan 21

@JudyEv I guess it is still possible especially in those remote provinces

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

@rakski I think throughout countries that are ruled by sharia law.

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@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

In some places, yes, I'm sure it is.

3 people like this

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@xFiacre (14809)

• Ireland

22 Jan 21

@judyev I love that kind of film festival. I do miss our little art house cinema where such things happened.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

We rarely go to the movies unless it's too these festivals. We just don't get around to it. Maybe if we saw what was showing we might go but we don't get any papers etc to tell us.

2 people like this

@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

21 Jan 21

Beautiful photo. Our robins are different. And I see many in the yard lately. Sounds like an intense film.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

Our robins are different from both the US and English versions. Yes, the film was pretty intense. Not for the faint-hearted although being animated probably made it a bit less awful.

4 people like this

@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

22 Jan 21

@JudyEv I like seeing these birds.

2 people like this

@JWMILLER (3275)

• Westmoreland, Tennessee

23 Jan 21

Robins in AU much different from in the US, beautiful bird.

2 people like this

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@snowy22315 (209206)

• United States

22 Jan 21

The movie sounds stark. Have fun at the wedding. I wish I was going to one.

3 people like this

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@snowy22315 (209206)

• United States

24 Jan 21

@JudyEv I hope so.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

There were no restrictions at the wedding. I can't believe our good fortune. Let's hope it lasts.

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@Aquitaine24 (12000)

• San Jose, California

21 Jan 21

That sounds like a thought provoking film.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

Very much so. Once again, I really appreciated my lifestyle.

2 people like this

@valmnz (17095)

• New Zealand

23 Jan 21

That sounds like a film worth seeing. Hope you've enjoyed your time in Perth.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

Thanks, the wedding went off very well. We were able to help out here and there which was nice.

@Tampa_girl7 (54741)

• United States

22 Jan 21

The Robin is a beauty.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

I just love this photo. lol Thanks

@KristenH (33591)

• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

21 Jan 21

Sounds like an interesting movie.

3 people like this

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@KristenH (33591)

• Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

26 Jan 21

@JudyEv Oooh. That doses some interesting indeed.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

It was certainly interesting. There is another one set in Saudi Arabia where a woman runs for election. That should be interesting too.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

22 Jan 21

I'm glad you enjoyed the film. It sounds like a good one.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

24 Jan 21

@JudyEv I believe you are too.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

It was a bit confronting but I feel in a way I'm paying respect to these victims by going outside my comfort zone to watch.

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@pjmurphy (2498)

• United States

23 Jan 21

Somehow sharia law and animation don't seem to go together very well. Sounds interesting, though.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

It was very well done. Nothing cartoonish about it at all.

@LindaOHio (222896)

• United States

22 Jan 21

Great photo. The film sounds very enlightening. Have a good time at the wedding.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

The wedding was great fun, thanks. And I'm glad we saw the film although it was a bit confronting.

1 person likes this

@Hate2Iron (15724)

• Canada

23 Jan 21

That doesn't look like our robins either. I hate to admit it, but I like "happily ever after" kinds of movies. I would make a horrible social worker for the same reasons. I would take my work home with me every single night.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

I do too but I sort of feel I'm paying respect to these people by going outside my comfort zone in watching it.

crazyhorseladycx

@crazyhorseladycx (39503)

• United States

23 Jan 21

i bet'cha were glad such 'twas animated, hon. folks don't seem to comprehend the suffrage faced'n a daily basis fer many 'cross the globe. i fear dribblin' more'n the subject.. a wonderfully taken photo 'f this sweet robin fixin' to 'take the plunge'. hope y'all'd a great time 't the weddin' 'n a safe journey to'n fro. fingers crossed the remainin' films'll not be so heart-wrenchin'.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

I know there is another that would be hard to see but I don't think we'll get a chance to see it now. The last chance was 2pm this afternoon but we didn't get home in time. There are none now till Thursday.

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crazyhorseladycx

@crazyhorseladycx (39503)

• United States

24 Jan 21

@JudyEv oh, darned the luck, hon. somethin' to look ferward to though, eh?

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@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

@crazyhorseladycx For sure. It's surprising how hard it can be to take in 12 films even when you have a month in which to do it. Most are offered three times over the period but only Thursday to Sunday. It seems to have been a busy month for us.

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@Fleura (35160)

• United Kingdom

21 Jan 21

That's a fantastic photo! I'm sure the film was important but I don't think I would want to see it. I know life was terrible and there's nothing I can do about it. I just hope Afghanistan can emerge from the horror. It used to be a wonderful country; it was one of the places I would like to have visited : (

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

22 Jan 21

Glad you like the photo. Yes, the people there are truly suffering. Especially the women but also the men who don't necessarily agree with what's going on.

2 people like this

@JWMILLER (3275)

• Westmoreland, Tennessee

23 Jan 21

We are not going to theaters yet. Still seeing some MacLeod's Daughters,,,going on and on and on.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

We eventually stopped watching it - after about daughter no. 5 I think.

@banksim (5347)

•

28 Aug 21

Radical Islam is threat to world

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 21

Yes, I think so too. They are very inhumane in their dealings with anyone who doesn't see things as they do.

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@banksim (5347)

•

29 Aug 21

@JudyEv yes threat to whole humanity

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@DocAndersen (54399)

• United States

22 Jan 21

we had good friends working in Afganistan in the 1970s. on our way home from Thailand we stopped in Kabul for a week. it is a very hard place to live.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382655)

• Rockingham, Australia

24 Jan 21

The universities and schools were all in ruins in this film. I guess it's pretty true to life. I can believe it is a very hard place to live in.

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@DocAndersen (54399)

• United States

24 Jan 21

@JudyEv sad reality is that Kabul was a rough place when I was there in the 70s. it hasn't gotten better

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