Riders on the Storm

Riders on the Storm was warmly received in its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival. The filmmakers use a cinema verite approach to examine Afghanistan in 2021 when the US pulled out, the government collapsed, and the Taliban took over. The creative lens that the film makers use to examine daily life in Afghanistan is the traditional ancient Afghan sport of buzkashi. Buzkashi is a competition in which horsemen compete in a soccer-like competition in which the "ball" is a dead headless goat. In a sense the sport shows both the traditional and the modernizing aspects of Afghani culture.

The film profiles a leading Afghan athlete, Khaiber - a sort of Afghani Tom Brady - as his team plays for the national championship. The filming of the competitions are quite powerful. The sport will likely strike Westerners as rather primitive, but it has its own beauty to it. This part is almost anthropological in its behind-the-scenes examination of sport and its athletes.

Then the film shifts from a sports documentary to one about the collapse of the government and the takeover by the extremist Taliban regime. It shows Khaiber and his family as they experience the violence and religious extremism as Afghanistan is transformed and they have to make critical decisions about their own future.

Because of the nature of the society, even before the Taliban takeover, the voice of Afghan women is noticeably absent. Interestingly, their absence probably says more about their status than their words would have.

The film is a valuable examination of the modern-day tragedy playing out in Afghanistan. It is highly recommended for all those trying to see behind the curtain into the realities of life in today's Afghanistan.