RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

So many Americans see the Middle East/Western conflict in black and white terms and often focus on what makes people different than what there is in common. But the reality is far more complex, especially on the personal level. Indian-born film director Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) follows the career of the ambitious, intelligent, Princeton-educated Pakistani Changez (played very ably by Riz Ahmed) as he storms the halls of Wall Street as an up-and-coming analyst for a hedge fund, whose world spirals out of control following 9-11 and the unraveling of a love affair with a New York photographer that forces him to return to Pakistan. Caught up in the political turmoil of his region and campus, a reporter (played by Liev Schreiber) seeks him out to find important information, but Changez is determined to tell his story. There are so many ways to view this movie, one as an instructive tale of American ignorance and arrogance and the driving away of potentially sympathetic allies. Of simple-minded racism and prejudice in a changing world at home and abroad. One might say that culture never really leaves an individual and that people will always return to their roots. One might see how injustice, mistreatment, and emotional pain can wreck an individual. I know that one scene where Changez's girlfriend (played by Kate Hudson) does something that cuts him to the core affected me deeply: I could imagine myself walking into a situation where my personal life is displayed to others and being mortified, angry, and even retaliatory. Kiefer Sutherland is also good as Riz's Ameican mentor and boss. I think the hedge fund chopping up failing companies and heartlessly puting workers on the street is a stand-in for how some feel about drone strikes or Western incursions and such in the Middle East. A sense of impotance. Still, this is ultimately about the fact that some people, despite homegrown pressures, refuse to simply follow paths chosen for them, though the price can be high. It is a human story, well told.

MIDDLE EAST MOVIE TOUR

With the boys off on a one-night camping trip with the Scouts, Dad decided to catch a few movies, as well as sneak off for a nice dinner (and ice cream, don't tell anyone). I don't get these opportunities often, so it was a nice diversion. I decided to spend some of it on the CIA Rehabilitation and Restoration of Respect Tour. Yes, I went to see Argo and Zero Dark Thirty. And I found both films pretty entertaining, with good acting and compelling stories, though not totally accurate. And my first thought, especially in the latter movie, is that there probably was a lot going on that they have not (and likely won't) reveal for many years, if ever, to protect individuals and the agency. But the essential stories seemed true. Furthermore, I hope people realize the very hard work, long hours, terror, stress, and effort a whole range of government officals and employees, from politicians to intelligence officers to foreign service officers to the military give to protect this country. They are only human, often make mistakes, may even fail, but they also carry off spectacular feats (among the thousands of lesser achievements every day) that are usually hidden from attention or praise. In the Iranian situation, embassy guards could have fought back with deadly force, killing hundreds and possibly sparking a war, but they held back and suffered a 444 day captivity. And many people came to the aid of Americans.

Argo, the story of how a CIA operative and specialist in secretly extracting individuals from countries (played by Ben Affleck, who also directed the movie) duped the Iranian authories and gained the freedom of six embassy personnel who escaped the initial takeover by the students. In some ways the early scenes struck a parallel with Bengahzi, where prepared agitators used the cloak of a street protest to gain access to a facility. I think they know the first inclination of American guards is NOT to shoot into crowds. This movie had a personal note, and interest, for me because I worked with about eight Iranians during the revolution and captivity, and I got many insights from them. I even risked my job standing up to a member who was verbally and racially abusing an Iranian employee (who, by the way, lived the rest of his life in the United States and is a contributing member of society). In fact, in an aside, I believe the vast majority of refugees and immigrants from the Middle East to this country have added to the diversity and strength of our nation, many sacrificed and offered their lives to defend us and have contributed mightily, especially Iranians who came here. Ok, let's get back to the movie. I have read about the escape, the creation of a dummy movie-productiuon company, and the film rightly applauds the contribution of the Canadians in hiding and protecting our citizens. The movie avoids a lot of saccharine and sappy aspects some films employ, and tried to be a straightfoward account, with levity being provided at the expense of Hollywood. Since the Academy nominated nine movies for Best Picture, I see how it made the list, but I thought Affleck was rather bland in the lead role (perhaps because he was expected to be, in which case he did a great job). But even in many places where I would have expected a higher measure of anxiety, I didn't feel it, at least to the extent I expected. Perhaps I expect too much. I thought the cast was good, and I loved the John Goodman/Alan Arkin parts (they could make a spinoff and just make a deliciously savage commentary on Hollywood). I loved Adrienne Barbeau's cameo. Although most people probably won't notice, but I thought the smaller roles of Iranians and crowd scenes were very well done, and quite believable, not over the top or exaggerated (such as when the bazari goes crazy when his picture is taken, which reflects the real fears and tumult ordinary Iranians were feeling). I know some Iranians will complain that the movie made some look silly or incompetent, but I thought the filmmakers tried to show just how smart and dedicated (even if fanatical) many revolutionaries were (and also the pain and violence experienced by the population as a whole). And sadly, I think most Iranians continue to suffer from fanatical oppression, and I hope one day they can shed their current clerical leadership. This movie sported a huge cast and must have been a nightmare for costumers and support staff, but I think they pulled it off. I enjoyed the film.

Zero Dark Thirty was a bit more troubling, though it was an exciting film. I thought Jessica Chastain and Jason Clark were very good (even as they glorified torture, which I oppose) as CIA operatives dedicated to destroying Al Qaida and killing its head, and the rest of the cast was good as well. I wondered a bit about the conservative outcry against the movie as a vehicle of adulation for Obama (which, frankly, I did not see). I was a bit surprised that (at least I can't recall hearing it) the SEAL team did not get more mention, because the movie seemed to indicate it was a CIA team. I bet CIA personnel were there, but it doesn't sinc with what I read in No Easy Day. I liked the fact that they showed the contributions of many Pakistanis (as well as Americans of Middle Eastern heritage) in helping kill Bin Laden. I think the film also correctly showed how smart, tenacious, and sneaky our terrorist oppoents can be (and maybe people will realize how difficult is the job to counter fanatics). What a gigantic and coordinated effort is needed to keep these jackals at bay. No doubt Americans will never know the sacrifices and effort made by thousands of public servants who have staved off attacks or killed and captured terrorists. Every terrorist attack is a failure of sorts, but I suspect many more potential disasters were avoided by good intelligence and timely interventions. Depending on the mood of the voters, I wouldn't be surprised if the Academy gives the Best Movie award. Possibly these two movies may cancel each other out and the award will go to a happier movie (though my vote goes to Lincoln). Many scenes are troubling, and I would highly encourage parents to heed the R rating.

As an aside, there will be some Americans who will feel superior and snigger at the Middle Eastern fanatics, but I say we have them too, in elements of the fanatical Christian fundametalists and Tea Party crackpots, and they are just a step away from becoming domestic terrorists, and that what keeps them from destroying this country is that they do not have the advantage of a homogenous (and often oppressed)population, but that we as a nation benefit from broad diversity of cultural heritages and political outlooks and multiplicity of religious and social belief. It's great to be an American, even if we make mistakes and can be wrong (my opinion) on many issues. We must stay vigilant, both at home and abroad, and remain engaged in world events (even when it costs us), and hopefully stay true to our higher ideals and avoid adopting tactics or measures that do not honor us.

FOREIGN MOVIES

Yes, I watched a foreign romance this weekend. Not just any romance, but an Indian musical of the Romeo-Juliet variety that questions Pakistani-Indian rivalry and calls for the improvement of conditions and education of women in both countries, as well as reform of the justice system. Yash Chopra's Veer-Zaara (2004) is a delightful movie. Dancing. . .yes, we gots some! Colorful dress and beautiful women. . .we've gots that too! :) Luckily the Bollywood extravaganzas were kept in check (though I was let down that there wasn't a huge final fling), but there was the chance an outbreak of motion could occur at any moment. The leads, Shah Rukh Khan (as Veer, who I have seen in Indian movies before) and the lovely Preity Zinta, are wonderful, as is also Rani Mukerji, who plays the progressive Pakistani lawyer who comes to Veer's aid. After saving Zaara from a bus accident while she is on her way to deposit her Bebe's ashes in her homeland village in India, the free-spirited woman is taken under the chivalrous and smitten Veer's wing, as he shows off his country while falling in love. Despite her betrothal to a stern Pakistani man in an arranged marriage for political purposes, Veer steps aside for the sake of her family and is unjustly forced into jail under a vow of silence to protect her honor, and it is only through the retelling of their romance to the newly appointed legal defender that we learn of his plight. Normally Indian films are little more than eye and ear candy (I love the music, rhythms, and dancing though, as well as the colorful costumes), but I really enjoyed this movie. The running time is a little over three hours, so get settled. But I really enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting how often English words crept into the dialogue.

Not to be totally sissified in the eyes of my few followers, I also watched a Thai film, Headshot (2011), a rollicking story of a framed ex-policeman who becomes an assassin for a secretive dealer of justice outside of the corrupt legal system. There is no dancing here! But lots of shootouts and dead bodies. And yes, beautiful women. . .especially Sirin Horwang and Chanokporn Sayoungkul (who is eye candy that you wouldn't believe). Nopachai Chaiyanam, as former undercover drug agent Tul, is shot in the head during a later assassination and surprisingly survives, only to find that he sees the world now upside down. Of course, circumstance that you will see in the movie have already turned his world askew. I wouldn't rank the movie highly in a cinematic scale, but it is lively and entertaining, and (did I not mention this), there are really beautiful women and lots of shoot-em ups. Who wouldn't like?

MALALA

Pray for Malala Yousafzai, a fourteen-year-old Pakistani girl who since the age of eleven has written a blog advocating for education and freedom for girls and women in that blood-soaked and religiously reactionary corner of the world. Taliban members ambushed a van she and two other girls were riding to school in and sprayed them with machine-gun fire. She was hit in the neck and throat. Luckily she survived and has undergone several surgeries to repair the damage and remove the bullets (one, I think, is still lodged in the neck). No doubt the assholes will try again. Although Pakistan needs more females (and men) to stand up against advocates of darkness, intolerance, and anti-feminism, I hope someone in the United States can help get her out of that country, help her recover, enroll her into a great school, and then let her continue her fight. The world needs more brave people such as her. Especially in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia. . .do I need to mention them all? Of course, we need advocates for progress and education and common sense throughout the world (even in the United States), but some areas need it far more than others. I grow sicker with every report of a girls' school attacked, schoolgirls doused with acid, minors forced into marriages (especially with aged men), women excluded from many courses of education (as is currently happening in Iran), women kept down economically and socially, women snatched and traded as slaves on the sex market, and a whole host of crimes carried out against women while officials and men turn blind eyes. It is time for these travesties to end. Sad to say that the world would be a much better place if the Talabani and their ilk simply disappeared, died off. Efforts must be made to protect the truthsayers (such as Yoani Sanchez in Cuba), the rabble rousers.

UPDATE: Apparently three of the Taliban attempted assassins have been detained and have revealed the individual who set up the hit. Malala seems to be doing better and was moved to a better facility. She still has a ways to go. And opinion in Pakistan has opened even more debate on the role of the Taliban in their country. I would love to see some violent push-back against these religious reactionaries.

UPDATE II: Little Malala has been airlifted to Britain and reports are she is responding well. I hope they keep her out of Taliban clutches and she gets to continue her education and crusade.

UPDATE III: Reports are she is standing and communicating, much very good news.

WANDERING FALCON

Life is truly cheap and difficult for tribal people, especially women, who live in the rough, mountainous areas along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although interest in and knowledge of this area has peaked with the war against radical Islamic elements, much of the culture of this region is lost on Americans. Into the breach comes a delightful collection of short stories from the pen of an eighty-year-old insider, Jamil Ahmad, whose tales are loosely tied together by the appearance, often peripherally, of Tor Baz, orphaned at a young age and handed from caretaker to caretaker until he becomes a roving presence on the margins of society. In The Wandering Falcon the reader gets a taste of the precarious nature of life, where one can easily be snuffed out for crimes of a long-lost relatives, or sold away (especially girls) in times of economic distress (which is just about always), or simply killed during frequent raids and feuds. People are kidnapped in an almost ritual manner, bringing money and status to the thieves. These are tough, proud people, steeped in their traditional ways, struggling against change and western incursions. There is humor too, and one also senses beauty. While the book is entertaining and educational, mostly it reminds me just how lucky I am to be born in America.

PAKISTAN

How exactly did Mohammed Hanif escape not being put on some notorious fatwa (akin to the one ordered against Salmon Rushdie) for having written the blasphemous, Catch-22-like A Case of Exploding Mangoes? At least, you would think, some mysterious Moslem assassins or shadowy Pakistani military death squads would be hunting down the author, angry over his humorous, cynical take on General Zia-al-Huq, Islam, government, intelligence services, US-Pakistani relations, jihad in Afghanistan (against the Soviets), and many other topics, not to mention the naughty language and homosexual encounters. Just the sentence "Allah’s house was just a dark, empty room," should have sparked slogan-shouting in the streets---you know, with banners and all. Certainly the family of dictatorial General Zia wanted to haul Hanif into court for slander!!! Of course, these things apparently have not happened, thankfully. So, is this book worth reading? Hell, yes. And this his first book to boot. Maybe that is why Hanif lives in London.

What a perfect scenario for a fiction writer to play with. The mysterious death by plane crash of Zia, several of his generals, and the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan had left many conspiracy theories---a wonderful happenstance that allows Hanif to apply his imagination and sharp critiques in a readable and funny book. Sinister undertones are teased from the mess that is the protagonist Ali Shigri’s life. A junior air officer in training, he is the son of a deceased (suicide or murder, you decide) highly decorated Pakistani military officer who helped run the jihad against the Soviets (and may or may not have been involved in siphoning off a little American green).

The book says a lot about the paranoia and stupidity of military dictatorships. He comments on the cruelty and illogical thinking of religious fundamentalists, the backstabbing and mentality of men in military hierarchies and intelligence services. He pokes fun at bumbling American foreign service personnel and military advisors, as well as at American culture. He even takes a humorous shot at a young Osama bin Laden.

He could have used a better editor though, as several times very similar passages were used (such as "the asphalt melting under his boots"). Overall, though, I would encourage people to try this book.