Pakistani Chainsaw: A Love Story follows the journey of Rony Whiteman, an American who has come to Pakistan to help children enslaved in child labor. With the help of her guide, Ali Ben Hur, she experiences Pakistan in all its colorful sights, sounds, and food. She runs into many eclectic characters as she finds herself lost in Death Valley, running afoul of the Chainsaw Girl and her sidekick Cockroach who run a child labor camp.
The film is a feast of rich colors, slick camera work, and a pumping soundtrack. Especially the first half of the film has shots that evoke creepy hotel shots in The Shining as well as energetic shots that would fit right into a modern music video.
Model and actress, Mareeb Awan, plays a likable protagonist as Rony. She's expressive with an acting range that does well to endear her to the audience. You root for her admire her focus on going to Pakistan to help the children.
Ali Raza is also very likable as Rony's handsome guide, Ali Ben Hur. Mareeb and Ali have chemistry and it's believable that Rony and Ali Ben Hur would strike up a romance.
Marco Jacoby is entertaining as Marco, Rony's exasperated boyfriend. The conflict between Rony and him is the best kind, where you understand where each side is coming from and can understand their points of view.
Ramazan Johnnie as the Hermit, Rizwana Khan as the Guest Manager, and Usman Khan as Pakistani Charlie Chaplin, are among the charismatic and entertaining character actors that Rony meets. The armless boy is a wonder to behold as Rony's guide and rescuer.
Saeed Anwar Jatt as Chainsaw Girl and Ghias Mastana as Cockroach do well as the cackling and bumbling villains. You definitely don't want to be their victim or their guest. Rameez and Tarzan do well as imposing and dangerous-looking thugs roaming the countryside and looking for unlucky travelers. There's a moment with them that actually has you cheering for the Chainsaw Girl.
Writer/Director Hassan Zee makes a cameo as the cheekily named Borak Obamma. He embodies energy and fun, "Americans love to dance!" as he brings his dancing skills to Death Valley.
Pakistani Chainsaw: A Love Story is a four-quadrant family film with international appeal. The attractive leads will appeal to all quadrants (Males Under 25, Males over 25, Females Under 25, and Females over 25), The premise of an outsider visiting a culture they're unfamiliar with has a fish out of water appeal. Adults will like seeing the culture, music, and all the mouthwatering food. For the ladies, there's an element of romance, but this is also kept family-friendly.
The villains are easily understandable and scary-looking. "You can hate them but love them too as they make you laugh throughout the film." While there are scary moments and imagery, the violence is subdued (no gore) or played for laughs. The audience also gets a break from the tension with the always entertaining Chakwal News duo who check in to give updates on how Pakistan is handling the missing American, 'The Prime Minister is very concerned," they say, showing a suave picture of him. There are several dance numbers and physical comedy to make the audience members of all ages laugh.
Filmmaker Hassan Zee has had international success with his past films and looks to be continuing on that trajectory. Pakistani Chainsaw: A Love Story, is a tour of Pakistan. Even with the scary characters on screen, one can't help but marvel at the beautiful landscape around them.
