Rock the Kasbah (2015)

For a movie with an interesting plot, and enough well known talents to have you assume the best, this movie seems to get lost in itself.The film starts off with a story that will make you want to know more and characters that you want to see grow in front of your own eyes. I was intrigued by all of this and was excited to see what would happen to all of these people.The story starts off well executed and with a simple yet surprisingly fun story.But somewhere around the halfway point, the movie does a U-turn. Taking back everything that it made you grow attached to. With the story, the characters and even the setting turning into something that doesn't quite click with all of it's own setup.I was left confused as to the reasoning behind the deeper motives of the main character. And I was also inclined to ask why this movie shook loose all of these characters that it spent time persuading you were going to be a bigger part.This movie had a great setup with some well thought out story telling, but by the end I was left not caring about what happened to who, or why they were there in the first place. And the only thing that I took was the message that they were trying to send about women's rights. That right there was the only thing that i could gather from it's shaky story telling, but even that seemed to be undermined by the protagonist's motives.

I watched this movie despite reading some really negative reviews. The cast and the story itself were enough for me to check this flick out. While the movie is good in almost all the aspects, including acting, directing, story and somewhat location filmed at, it was marred by stereotypical clichés. There were wrong references here and there. Since the movie was shot in Morocco, depicting Afghanistan, there were bound to be some mistakes. But these were glaring mistakes. For example the use of Arabic language here there. Pashto was widely used but in Afghanistan people mostly speak Dari, which is an amalgamated form of Pashto and Persian. Some of the people's clothing was also North African style which is a far cry from Afghan style clothing. Also the accent was more of Arabic speaking person than an Afghan. Afghan accent of English closely resembles that of Iran and Pakistan. Afghans can't pronounce the letter "F", instead they pronounce letter "P" in place of it. Arabs can't pronounce letter "P", instead they use letter "B" in place of it. In the movie almost everyone was using "B" instead of "P" just like Arabs. When you are making a movie, a little research goes a long way and now you have all knowing Google on your side, then why don't you before you start shooting.

There was No Way that this Little Film was going to Escape Controversy. No Matter what Your Political Stripe or Country of Origin, it was Inevitable that in this Noble Effort there were bound to be Things that Offend, Outrage, and Disappoint."Tradition is the illusion of permanence.".......Woody AllenNo Doubt, in the Far Future, Our Current Time with its Borders, Language Barriers, Religious Differences, and general overall Mistrust and Hatred for Anything or Anyone "Different", will be Studied and most likely Viewed with much Wonder and Amazement, along with Anger and Pity.We can take some sort of Solace knowing that our Current Paradigms and Dogmas will eventually be Tempered by the Winds and Sands of Time. In the Meantime the Mind Boggling and Hurtful ways We go about our "Business" of Everyday Life in the 21st Century, You Either Laugh or Cry.Director Barry Levinson and Bill Murray choose to Laugh. Or to be more Precise, try and make Us Laugh. The Movie has been Destroyed by the Critics and One Wonders what any of Them have done Lately to find some path to "Peace in the Middle East".Overall, the Film is Worth a Watch for its Heart and Intent. It Deserves a Hearing, just on its Effort alone. Whether You Find it Funny, Pertinent, Poignant, or Pathetic, it's at least Trying to ride the Peace Train in a Wild World.

This film tells the story of an American rock band manager who goes to Afghanistan to tour his singer. However, the singer leaves the country unannounced, leaving him with no singer for the tour. He enlists the help of a local woman to appear on TV, hoping to make her a star."Rock the Kasbah" has a very slow pace and very uninteresting storyline. It takes an hour of screen time to get into the main theme, i.e. the Afghan woman. The story is full of cultural insensitivity, such as Bill Murray's character touching the local woman's shoulder to congratulate her success. In addition, he is simply forcing his own views and values onto another culture, violating almost every cultural rule and norm of the local country. His character is offensive in every way. Actually the film is offensive. It's one thing to break out of chains and realise one's potential, but it's another to disregard another culture's rule and norms to bring about a change that is not necessarily welcomed by the other culture.