Hollywoodgate

After the Taliban’s return to power, the radical movement’s leaders allowed foreign correspondent Ibrahim Nash’at to make a film. He follows a commander and a soldier through the abandoned military base where, during their hasty withdrawal, the US army left military technology worth billions of dollars. The camera silently watches the bearded men stretch their legs on a treadmill and open a fridge full of alcohol. But these amusing scenes are playing out under horrific circumstances – the Taliban are slowly bringing fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters into operation. The commander’s comment aimed at the director can be used to sum up this film, which straddles the boundary between journalism and propaganda: “If his intentions are bad, he will die soon.”