Customer Reviews

Time for Drunken Horses [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ]

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Whilst this movie is set at the border of Iran-Iraq, it portrayed the life of a family without any means and of a boy barely in his teens having to take over the helm of the family after their father passed away. He had gotten three other younger siblings to look after and one of them, Madi was handicapped and the person who needed a surgery urgently. The doctor indicated that even after surgery, Madi would die prematurely anyway. Still, Ayoub vowed to take on extra jobs to enable his younger brother to take the surgery. Because the environment is harsh and that livelihood is hard to come by, Ayoub had to take his chances even though there's this possibility that he might work for nothing. It just happened that smugglers that he worked for were opportunistic by nature. The movie was never dull to watch and it made us appreciate what we are taking for granted. Those children depicted in the movie shouldn't be working at their age but they should be having a proper education to get ahead in lives. It was made six years ago and I'm sure that the situation would be worse now with the battles that are raging on in Iraq nowadays. Ultimately, foreign policy against Iran and Iraq would only worsen the plight of the common people. The movie ended abruptly but it gave us a glimpse of the other life that we heard and read about in the news but never lived through it. Even when the environment was hopeless, those selfless children that would give their everything and all to their loved ones showed us that there is afterall, hope. All we need is love, remember? We would appreciate the title better when we watch the movie ourselves. Highly recommended. By the way, there's an interview with the Director as an extra feature in the movie.

Director Bahman Ghobadi's says this movie was made as a tribute to his people, the Kurds. Kurdish tribute is a theme running through each of Ghobadi's subsequent movies, including the very compelling "Turtles Can Fly", available now on DVD from Amazon. Please see that title also.

What's depicted in A Time For Drunken Horses is a way of life very much removed from my sitting here this winter in a warm home with little potential outside for war or any other major hardships. Major hardships seem to be the plight of the Kurds, and the children are not spared; this movie shines for it's lack of sentimentality in dealing with a difficult subject, the lives of the orphans of war.

The cinematography is gorgeous, the mountainous regions of Iran are varied and beautiful and seemingly made for the movies. Thus the entire film is beautiful in a severe and stark kind of way. Like many Iranian films, the ending is not resolved Hollywood-happy, but instead requires the viewer's own imagination.

Note: you can often find a NTSC Region free DVD of this on eBay, which will play on all North American players. However, it's a Chinese edition, and the English subtitles are uneven. A multi-region DVD player is a good investment that will allow you to enjoy discs such as this licensed Region 4 PAL edition.

Excellent Movie. When will this be available on NTSC DVD format. I need to add it to my collection.... as well as purchase as gifts.