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Poster for At Five in the Afternoon

At Five in the Afternoon

2003 · 1h 45m · N/A Drama
Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf

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Overview

Nogreh is a young Afghan woman living with her father and her sister-in-law, Leylomah, whose husband, Akhtar, is missing. Beyond the issue of Akhtar, Leylomah is most concerned with how to feed her baby. She cannot provide milk for her baby as her own hunger is preventing her from lactating. Nogreh, however, aspires toward a life in a western styled democracy. Although the Taliban are no longer in power in Afghanistan, traditional forces are still active in the country. Nogreh often displays signs of rebellion, such as wearing a pair of white pumps instead of the traditional slipper beneath her burqa. But mostly, Nogreh wants to be educated. Without her father's knowledge, Nogreh is attending a secular girls school. Ultimately, she wants to become President of Afghanistan. With the help of a Pakistani refugee who likes her as a woman, Nogreh tries to understand exactly what forces led to current world leaders being elected, those forces which she wants to emulate.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
85%
Tomatometer
Fresh

This lushly photographed movie stands as a testament to dreams and determination on both sides of the camera and everywhere in the world.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Fresh

A feature that sifts through the rubble of global politics and finds this: a teaspoon of hope mixed with buckets of despair.

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Rotten

An unsettling and uneven work in which we must make do with a few sequences that hit the bull's-eye and many more that can't even locate a target.

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

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