[Movie Review] The Breadwinner

Happy (late) International Women's Day! The Breadwinner is on Netflix! Go watch it now! I think it's a great way to celebrate the day by watching a movie about a young girl who overcomes discrimination, inequality, and fear.

“Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.”

First of all, when my sister Yerisawesome told everyone in my family that the Breadwinner was on Netflix, my mind processed the trailer for First They Killed My Father because Angelina Jolie was a producer. After two minutes in, I differentiated the two. Here's the Google summary.

Summary: Parvana is an 11-year-old girl who lives under Taliban rule in Afghanistan in 2001. After the wrongful arrest of her father, Parvana cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy to support her family. Working alongside a friend, she soon discovers a new world of freedom and danger. Drawing strength from the fantastical stories she invents, Parvana embarks on an epic quest to find her father and reunite her family. (Google.com)

I only watch a movie if it's good in the first five minutes and if it's not, I stop. The Breadwinner will grab your attention from beginning to end. I was touched by the entire movie. I resonated with everything and my heart felt everything the movie presented. This movie reflected all the women and moments in my family as a Hmong female.

The film takes place during a time that discriminates women (and still do?), which was why Parvana had to cut off her hair to be a boy. The beginning of the film shows how women are treated for simply being a woman, which is nothing. They can't do anything without a male "chaperone," even vendors can't sell anything to them. Discriminating women is practiced everywhere in the world, just at different levels. Of course, I am angry that and I resonate that with Parvana. It simply never makes sense.

The short Google summary doesn't give you the details that Parvana's father is a teacher. As a teacher, he taught Parvana how to read and write. This reminded me of my dad as an (uncertified) educator, philosopher, and politic. My dad was one of the handfuls that knew how to read and write during the Vietnam War and was appointed to be a Hmong historian by General Vang Pao. Growing up, I never appreciated his passion to read and write, and especially correcting facts when necessary. With all this politics going on, it's all making sense to me and why I really enjoy Stephen Colbert covering the news. Back to the point of education, it is restricted, especially for girls.

The importance of education was displayed as a skill. Parvana and her father sat on the street to offer reading and writing. I was confused with what they were trying to do/market in the beginning but after her father was taken away, a vendor gave her a letter to read and paid her, in her disguise as a boy because girls were banned from reading.

As cliche as it sounds, knowledge is power and people that live in a country that doesn't have to climb mountains and waters take it for granted. When I think about that statement, I think about my mom. She would be on a completely different track if she was more educated. Every time we lacked our school work, she always said she wished she had access to education. Every time we don't want to go to work, she wished she understood English so she can work an office job. My mom may not have an "educational degree," but she accomplishes so much more than people with a degree. Nothing was ever impossible for her to achieve. She always had the mindset of "it can be done" and that is in my genes. I've always lived a determined life because of her.

I don't want to say too much; the movie can speak for itself. This entry was rushed, so my thoughts weren't as organized and there are just too many things that come to my mind when I reflect on the movie. You just have to watch it to feel it. Thank you for reading this post.