Hollywoodgate

As the Americans abandoned Afghanistan, Ibrahim Nash'at went in, negotiating with a senior Tabliban official to film him as he took control of the national air force. Making this film was certainly a brave undertaking; but having seen it one is left wondering whether it was worth the effort. The world we are allowed to see appears devoid of both joy and competence (and maybe not coincidentally) utterly devoid of women; far from being the boys who've grabbed the sweetie jar, the new rulers of Kabul appear just a sad bunch of losers. When, however, we see the brigade of suicide bombers as part of a military parade, it's hard to extract even black humour. I hope the Afghani people eventually find freedom; but it's hard to see that coming any time soon.

The Egyptian director was granted access to follow and film two Taliban military figures for a full year, beginning just days after the West's retreat from Afghanistan. The result is this remarkable documentary.

Criticism concerning what the documentary DOESN'T cover misses the point. Within the limitations imposed by his hosts (who threatened to kill him if they didn't approve of how he was filming) Nash'at captured fascinating sequences of the Islamic extremists on and off duty.

Although there are comic moments (including when the Taliban reveal an inability to perform a simple multiplication operation in their heads), the overall effect is chilling. The complete subjugation of females and the casual cruelty to which children are exposed add to the grim tenor of the film.

Anyone with any interest in history or international relations shouldn't miss this rare opportunity to pierce the veil surrounding this most barbaric of cultures, especially in light of the stated intention of those depicted to export their poisonous ideology by force of arms.

You start out wondering why the Taliban gave access to Ibrahim Nash'at to film them - and indeed quite a few of those filmed are pretty hostile and complain about his presence. It becomes clear as the film progresses: they don't want to be liked but they do want to be feared, and as Nash'at's access is closely monitored, they do control the narrative to a large extent. Nash'at explained at the end that he wanted to interview ordinary Afghans but was forbidden from doing so.

At the start, there are some moments where the Taliban seem bumbling and incompetent. They can't believe their luck when they find the Americans have left behind huge amounts of military equipment, including helicopters and planes as well as ammunition, plus medical supplies and a fully-kitted-out gym. Initially apprehensive, as they explore the facility, they realise this is an incredible treasure trove. The problem is lack of experts who can fix the planes (which were disabled by the Americans) or fly them. But some rather terrified-looking pilots who had deserted are dug out and reprieved on condition they fly the aircraft, and the planes are mended so that they can take part in a huge military parade in front of visiting dignitaries at the end of the film.

There are disturbing scenes when squads set off at night to capture dissidents and extract information from them: we don't see any scenes of torture and killing, but it's clear they occurred.

I found the more mundane scenes, when an officer had meals with his men, or planted trees on the facility, notable for the tense interactions between the Taliban, even when alone. I realised that a characteristic of authoritarians is that they don't know how to have fun - they need to be feared and that means they must be taken seriously. This may explain why they don't want anyone else to have fun.

Also disturbing were rare scences of children: there was a brief shot of little girls dancing and laughing, but the other children in shot were little boys who were clearly being trained to grow into replicas of the war-mongering men they were with.

Women didn't really feature except as shrouded figures begging in the streets. There was a scene where the men discuss whether women should be veiled: one of the men gives what he clearly regards as a cast-iron argument in favour: if you had two chocolates and one was wrapped and the other dropped in the dirt, which would you eat? The idea that the chocolate might have a view on the matter would clearly be beyond his comprehension.

This is sobering and sad. How do people like the Taliban, most who have never in their lives known peace, adapt their gerontocratic, patriarchal system based on an extreme interpretation of Shar'ia Law to the complex needs of running a country?

They evidently tried, and failed. The country seems very much on a war footing, even in peace.

Hollywood gate doesn't show one shot of a woman. To the Taliban, of course, why should it? To the Taliban, A woman is a human 'cow' that you buy and raises your kids. The more educated these women are, the more they protest and demand rights, so you cut that out fast!

There's only one sentence if you're guilty of something - death. The Mafia are kinder. The IRA were kinder. Islam has many forms, and this one is nasty. It's a shame to see a modern country dragged back to the Dark ages in so many ways. Hollywood gate lets you see all all that. That's the depressing power of this.

The professional critics leave me uninformed: the documentary is courageously made and thoughtfully edited, but what does it tell us? It is likely that the Taliban's aim was propaganda but the most striking thing about this surprisingly amiable film is banality. If this was all that there was to the regime, then their victory in Afghanistan would be inexplicable and future tenuous. Ibrahim Nash'at voiceovers his experience of the suffering of the Afghan people and horrors of war (enabled at scale only by foreign machinery) but he has been severely constrained in what he can actually reveal. Some insight into the Afghan purpose is better than none and Nash'at's work is important. I hope he will thrive and be allowed more freedom and access in the future.