The Giant Buddhas (2005)

Réalisateur:

Christian Frei

Release Date:

3 août 2006 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A filmmaker's investigation into the destruction of giant Buddha statues in Afghanistan. |

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

A Privilege to Have Seen

Ensemble

Taysir Alony	...	Himself
Sayeed Mirza Hussain	...	Himself
Nelofer Pazira	...	Herself
Zémaryalaï Tarzi	...	Himself
Xuanzang	...	Himself

Autre(s) titre(s) :

Im Tal der grossen Buddhas (Switzerland: German title) (TV title)

Durée:

Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Pays:

Switzerland

Langue:

Arabe | Dari | Anglais | Français | Mandarin

Couleur:

Couleur

Son:

Dolby Digital

Classification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Christian Frei Filmproductions

A Privilege to Have Seen

Feeling tired and spent after New Year's Eve festivities, I was scanning through channels and my eye caught the opening credits of this documentary. An impressive roster of composers were listed under "Music", making me pause and wait to see. What followed was an unexpected aesthetic, intellectual and visceral experience. Perhaps, as some other commenters have written, "Giant Buddhas" suffers from an identity crisis, alternating from straight documentary style to indie "art" movie. Visually, it does the same, presenting some sequences in a reportage style, as if shot using unglamorous digital, and others filmed as is David Lean was directing. This vacillation was not a hindrance to me: the bounty and quality of information and imagery confirmed the idea of how rich and deep this story of Afghanistan's Buddha's is. It is useless to summarize or highlight the flow and peaks of this epic poem to Afghanistan; devote an evening to it for yourself.