The Breadwinner Review/List of 10 great anti-war animations

                                                     3,7

The Breadwinner(2017)

Nora Twomey

Cast: Saara Chaudhry, Soma Chhaya, Noorin Gulamgaus, Ali Badshah Noorin, Laara Sadiq
Length: 94 min
Country: Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg

We are living in a time where big franchises are taking over with generic, formulaic and dumbed-down CGI kids animations driven only by profit, rather than created to stimulate children's creativity and empathy (we should be afraid of abominations such as The Emoji Movie and Minions, saturated with harmful consumerism and shallowness). It's amongst the midst of "copy-and-paste" era of family entrainment that this marvellous Irish animation studio is rising, and I could not be more grateful.
Cartoon Saloon is back!
After giving new life to the pages of the Columban ancient manuscript in Secrets of Kells (2009), and exploring childhood grief through the wonders of Celtic mythology in Song of the Sea (2014), the Kilkenny based studio returns with an animated picture that is far away from Mother Ireland.
No more fairies, selkies, or fertile green lands, to which we were so accustomed. This time, we find ourselves in a politically unstable and war-torn Kabul under the Taliban regime. Not many films can tackle so well bigotry, oppression and institutionalised misogyny, and still be a delightful fairytale for both children and adults. It's a bleak and accurate representation of the horrors brought up by conflicts and religious fundamentalism, as well as an imaginative and beautifully crafted tour de force.
It follows the struggles of a young girl named Parvana and her family. Parvana's father, Nurullah, is an educated and liberal-minded man, who lost one leg during the Russian war. He brings his daughter to the market where they try to sell odds and ends for a maigre living. Every grain of rice is vital for the survival of this family of 5.
The situation becomes even more critical after Nurullah is wrongfully arrested, leaving the family without a man providing for them. It is forbidden for women to leave the house without a male chaperone. Even going grocery shopping or fetching water from the well unaccompanied are considered a crime. Parvana's mother is brutally attacked by a group of extremists when she leaves the house to plead for her husband's release. It's when everything seems lost that Parvana cuts her hair and starts wearing her long-deceased brother's clothes. She is now a boy, named Aatish. She is now the "breadwinner".

Directer by Cartoon Saloon co-founder Nora Tworney and based on the best-selling novel by Deborah Ellis, The Breadwinner is a poignant, visually charming and deeply poetic animation which has little to share with Disney's Mulan (1998). Plot-wise, it shares many similarities with the 2003 Golden Globe winner Osama, the first movie shot in Afganistan since 1996. Both films follow a young girl disguised as a boy to support their families. It is also easy to draw comparisons with Marjane Satrapi's wonderful Iranian tale Persepolis (2007), a hilarious and tragic monochromatic story on female oppression and empowerment set in the streets of Terahn. Moreover, it also reminds me of Isao Takahata's masterpiece A Grave for Fireflies (1988). Both animations recount a heartbreaking story on lost childhood caused by the atrocities of war, with incredible sensitivity, honesty and empathy. The Breadwinner ends on a lighter note than Takahata's powerful and devastating gem, but it still retains the same gravity. Parvana's look to the world is strangely optimistic. We witness this world of oppression, through the eye of a resilient girl who experiences freedom for the first time. “When you’re a boy, you can go anywhere you like!” says her disguised friend Shauzia. Rendered with such an accurate and realist style, the day to day life in Kabul almost echoes movies from the Italian Neorealist Era like The Bicycle Thief (1946). However, this terrible reality doesn't stop Parvana from retelling wondrous ancient legends of the history of Afganistan to her toddler brother, creating a parallel narrative throughout the movie. Parvana's daily struggles alternate with beautifully crafted fabulistic parenthesis centred around an "Elephant King" and a dancing boy. In these folkloric vignettes, the style changes completely into an astonishing cut-out animation by Janis Aussel. The Breadwinner is a tale on the transcendent power of stories. Her father taught her the history and the richness of her country, “We were scientists, philosophers and storytellers, but we were at the edges of empires at war with each other", and those stories supported her going through her odyssey. “Stories remain in our hearts all our lives,” said Nurullah to Parvana. I am delighted to announce that Nora Twoney's harrowing, relevant and imaginative film is one of those stories. 

Movies you might like if you like The Breadwinner:

The Grave of the Fireflies (1988) by Isao Takahata 

Kandahar (2001) by Mohsin Makhmalbaf 

Osama (2003) by Siddiq Barma

Persepolis (2007) by Marjane Satrapi

The Prophet (2014) by Roger Allers, Gaetan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Joan C. Gratz, Mohammed Saeed Harib, Tomm Moore, Nina Paley, Bill Plympton, Joann Sfar, Michal Socha

Niche List of the week

10 Great Anti-War and Anti-Totalitarism Animations

Compared to other art forms as literature, painting or even filmmaking, Animation enjoys a higher degree of freedom.  When it comes to style, storytelling, or even political influence, there is no medium with such thin boundaries as animation, which made it the perfect versatile tool when it comes to reaching the widest audience.
Animation played a pivotal role during the world conflict: With its crude and slapstick humour, Anti-Nazi Disney films helped American soldiers to release their frustrations and built morale, as well as, reinforcing the hatred towards the enemy; Behind the Iron Curtain, Animation was one of the only ways to speak about the reality of communism; Animated shorts made in Eastern Europe in the 50s disguised political satire with favourite folkloric tales; Puppet theatre was used to keep the Czech language alive during the forced Germanisation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; Many of the most celebrated Japanese animes still carry in them the hereditary trauma of the Atomic Bombs; Almost autobiographical and experimental animations are rising from the Middle-East, fighting against oppression, censorship and religious fundamentalism.

It is clear that Animation has much more to offer than simple children entrainment. Its influence can have ground-breaking consequences on society, reshaping our culture, and even functioning as a useful source of knowledge.  (Ordered by year)

• Der Fuehrer's Face (1942) by Jack Kinney

Before WWII, animated films were seen uniquely as a childish form of entertainment. After the Pearl Harbour attack, the U.S Army immediately began working with Walt Disney Studios, producing a series of propagandist animations, which played a key role during the World conflict. They were designed to build morale, as well as, instigating hatred for the enemies. Der Fuehrer's Face was by far the most popular anti-Nazi cartoon, which won the Oscar as Best Animated Short Film in 1943. It depicts Donald Duck as he is dreaming of working in a factory in Nazi Germany. 

• Animal Farm (1954) by Joy Batchelor, John Halas

Based on George Orwell's unforgettable novel, Animal Farm is the first British feature-length animation: A satire of Stalinist Russia. It follows the revolt of the animals of Manor Farm against their human masters. Guided by the pigs Snowball (Trotsky) and Napoleon (Stalin), the animals attempt to create a utopian society. However, after Napoleon had a taste of power, he kills Snowball and establishes a totalitarian regime as brutal and corrupt as any human society. "All animals are equal--but some are more equal than others."
Paradoxically, this animation served as propaganda during the Cold War.  The US CIA funded the film with the intention of demonising the Soviet Union. That's probably why they changed the ending. Nonetheless, "Animal Farm" still remains a harrowing and underrated animation on the horrors of totalitarianism.   

• The Hand (1965) by Jirí Trnka

Jirí Trnka is one of the most talented and influential puppet-makers and artists from Chezchoslovakia. He was called the Eastern European "Walt Disney", even if his work was often too allegorical and sophisticated for children audience. The Hand might be his most popular accomplishment. It follows an Arlequin look puppet who is a sculptor and a ceramist. A giant live-action hand invade his house and start dictating over his creations. This stop-motion gem is a sharp allegory about the Soviet totalitarian control over the arts. 

• Conflict (1983) by Garri Bardin 

During the Cold War, anti-war animations were not exclusively present in the United States. The idea of a looming nuclear war was terrifying for both sides. Soviet animator, Garri Bardin, cleverly portraits the absurdity of war conflict in a simple and universal way. Instead of using human beings, he animates matches. A fitting metaphor, considering that a simple match could have ended millions of lives in an instant. A line, symbolizing the Berlin Wall, separates two groups of matchsticks.

• When The Wind Blows (1986) by Jimmy T. Murakami 

You might be familiar with the hand-drawn Christmas short film The Snowman that Jimmy T. Murakami co-directed. There is no magic in this disturbing and heart-breaking film. Instead of focusing on the innocence of childhood as many war films do, it focuses on the simple-minded middle age couple who are building a shelter from an impending nuclear attack. Their daily routine slowly becomes a claustrophobic nightmare marked by radiation sickness. 

• The Grave of the Fireflies (1988) by Isao Takahata

There aren't many animated films as touching and brutal as Isao Tanaka's masterpiece. An unbearable yet poetic story on the devastation caused by war. A tale on how war destroys everything that is innocent. It follows two young homeless orphans, Seito and his younger sister, Setsuko, as they attempt to survive the American bombings on Japan during the height of WWII.  The animation is astonishingly beautiful. The scene with the fireflies is a moment of pure innocence in stark contrast with the horrors of the war. 

• Porco Rosso (1992) by Hayao Miyazaki 

"I'd much rather be a pig than a fascist," says the anthropomorphic pig at the centre of this  Studio Ghibli masterwork. As anything created anything by Hayo Miyazaki, Porco Rosso is a sublime work of art. It's highly entertaining old-fashioned story, almost in the style of Casablanca. Set in the 30's in Italy, Porco Rosso unfolds during the rise of fascism and whilst war is on the brink of initiation. It follows a pilot who was turned into a pig, who now is living a life of gambling in front of the Adriatic Sea. He will have to deal with the Mamma Aiuto gang of sky-pirates.

• Persepolis (2007) by Marjane Satrapi

This unique and dazzling animation, awarded at Cannes with the Jury Prize, is as personal as much as universal masterpiece. Animated in a beautiful black and white style, Persepolis is an autobiographical story on female empowerment and oppression told with intelligence, infused with irony,  and rich in themes. It tells the story of a French-speaking woman's childhood and adolescence in Terahn and then in Vienna between the 80's and the 90's. It's a worth watching work of art, as well as a splendid graphic novel.

• Waltz with Bashir (2008) by Ari Folman

A game-changing autobiographic animation that redefines the documentary genre and explores new approaches in storytelling.
It's an essential, poetic. visually arresting, politically driven masterpiece on the horrors of warfare, as well as, an exploration of the traumas in the Soldier's memory affected by PSD. Ari Folman is seeking out the Isreali soldiers who were with him during 1982 Lebanon invasion. Undoubtedly, one of the best anti-war movies ever accomplished.

• In This Corner of the World (2016) by Sunao Katabuchi 

Heir of The Grave of the Fireflies, this delicate animation it's another story of preserved innocence despite the surrounding atrocities, focusing on the hardship and suffering of the civilians. Set in Hiroshima before, during and after the Atomic Bomb, it follows Suzu, an eighteen-year-old girl who is forced to marry away from home. We follow her on her daily struggles while she is preparing food for her new family despite the lack of supplies. 

Honorable mentions: In The Distance (2015), Jasmine (2013), The River (2015), Waves '98 (2015), Escalation (1968), The Grasshopper (1990), Blitz Wolf (1942)

These lists are open to recommendations. If you have a film in mind that should be on the list please leave a comment and tell us what you think.