The Orphanage (2019 film)

The Orphanage is a 2019 Danish-Afghan drama film directed by Shahrbanoo Sadat. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[1][2] It is the second installment in a planned pentalogy based on the unpublished diaries of Anwar Hashimi,[3] who plays a supporting character in the film. Its prequel, Wolf and Sheep, came out in 2016.[4]

The Orphanage
Film poster
Directed byShahrbanoo Sadat
Written byShahrbanoo Sadat
CinematographyVirginie Surdej
Edited byAlexandra Strauss
Production
company
Adomeit Film
Distributed byRouge Distribution
Release date
  • 18 May 2019 (2019-05-18) (Cannes)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryDenmark
Afghanistan

Plot

The film follows the 15-year-old Qodrat (Qodratollah Qadiri), who at the beginning of the movie lives on the streets of 1989 Kabul and gets by on scalping cinema tickets and peddling key rings. After being picked up from the streets he is sent to the Soviet operated juvenile detention center known as "the orphanage". Here he is one of five new arrivals, along with 14-year-old Masihullah (Masihullah Feraji) and his 16-year-old nephew Fayez (Ahmad Fayaz Osmani) who are given regular meals, living quarters, a primary education. The audience is introduced to the inner life of the stony faced Qodrat in Bollywood-style dream sequences in which he is free to express his feelings for a girl in class or one of his close pals. Dorm-room power scuffles ensue, sometimes broken up by the director Anwar (Anwar Hashimi), who takes on a father-like role. Some of the boys are taken on an excursion to Moscow where they get to compete in chess with their fellow young comrades. This life is again upturned when teachers struggle to tow the line of the Mujahideen after the Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan.

Cast
Director Shahrbanoo Sadat and Anwar Hashimi at the International Film Festival 2020
  • Hasibullah Rasooli
  • Masihullah Feraji
  • Qodratollah Qadiri
  • Sediqa Rasuli
  • Anwar Hashimi
  • Ehasanulla Kharoty

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews.[5]

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gollark: No.
gollark: <:seaweed:760220437552037909> even.
gollark: Also the code is fairly bees.
gollark: It's not very comprehensive.

References
  1. Keslassy, Elsa (4 April 2019). "Cannes: Deerskin With Jean Dujardin to Open Directors' Fortnight". Variety. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. Goodfellow, Melanie. "Cannes Directors' Fortnight unveils genre-heavy 2019 selection". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. Jan Lumholdt (18 May 2019). "Review: The Orphanage". Cineuropa. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  4. Sarah Ward (18 May 2019). "'The Orphanage': Cannes Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  5. "The Orphanage (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 20 September 2019.


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