Bravely searching for atonement
A remarkable truthfulness shepherds Benjamin Gilmour’s tightly written and conscientiously produced drama “Jirga” as it renders an image of Afghanistan not as a ravaged battleground but as an arrestingly rich land.
Hand-held shooting provides a gritty immediacy to the quest for atonement that Aussie war veteran Mike (Sam Smith) has embarked on, from the lively streets of Kabul to arid landscapes around Kandahar. A true Westerner, the remorseful ex-soldier assumes cash can indemnify the victims of a prior deathly fault.
Limiting its use of subtitles proves to be a brave choice that emphasizes nonverbal communication. The film, which takes its name from a Pashto word referring to a tribal council, begins as a road movie. Mike fraternizes with a taxi driver (a radiant Sher Alam Miskeen Ustad) over sweeping vistas and music-making until the Taliban enters to, understandably, probe the foreigner’s intentions.
Like his fictional lead, Gilmour understands this should exist as the opposite of a white savior narrative. An ode and a cinematic apology to a country perennially tarnished by outsiders undeserving of its welcoming culture, here its people and geographical attributes take top billing.
“Forgiveness is better than revenge,” utters one of the local leaders in the aftermath. Few platitudes are as simultaneously obvious and in constant need of reiteration.
“Jirga.” In Pashto and English with English subtitles. Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 18 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills.