Fresh
While its style and structure conform to the well-worn template established by docs like Spellbound, its success lies in creating an accessible, fun way into serious issues.
David Fear, Time Out
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Afghan Star
Overview
This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
100%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Of all the films to come out of the conflict, Afghan Star is the most provocative, because its message that people are essentially the same is a dubious, double-edge sword.
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Fresh
Like The Kite Runner novel and movie, the documentary Afghan Star succeeds at dramatizing the lives of Afghans, but those we see on screen are real flesh-and-blood characters -- people who let their true feelings emerge.
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh
An informative documentary revealing how decades of war and years of Taliban repression have fallen to the wayside, however briefly, as Kabul's answer to American Idol seduces a violence-weary Afghanistan.
Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times
Fresh
One of the most hopeful and heart-rending movies I've seen this year.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
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