I thought Kandahar was excellent. The photography and the editing were superb. My only complaint was the unnatural and rather stiff performance of the protagonist in certain scenes. As a documentary, the focus on the unimagined plight of those unfortunate enough to require medical attention in that pathetic land, such as the scene of the amputees racing on their crutches to get artificial limbs dropped by parachutes or the examination of women by a healer through a hole in a screen, are more effective than a thousand words. The subplots in the movie about the American finding his goal in life (if not the God he seeks) and the protagonist's need to assuage her gilt for being the lucky sister, by relinquishing everyting she had enjoyed in life and that her sister had not, are well developed. The cultural values of the area are consistently and effectively shown (eg: the indoctrination of future terrorists in school and the misogynous attitude of the dominant male exemplified by the treatment of the protagonist by the young guide and of the nurses by the husband and the thief) I must say that this movie (in 1.25 hr) was more elocuent to me than everything I have read about the Taliban and Afghanistan during the last three months.

9/10