Is her name Riga or Agrin? It seems like I heard her being called both. Also, what was happening in the flashback with her in the red dress being chased? Were those soldiers? Who were they? What happened? I guess we're not supposed to know exactly if she was the little boy's sister or mother. She seemed extremely young, I mean, too young to be able to have a child.
share---------------------- SPOILER AHEAD!!! -------------------------------
Hello,
I just had the luck to meet Bahman Ghobadi, he did a Q&A- session in the cinema because of the documentary movie festival which takes place in Munich at the moment.
Regarding her name: I don't know, I can't remember the name Riga.
I couldn't really believe it neither - but she was raped by the soldiers, which were Baath (i.e. Saddam Hussein) soldiers, and she is really supposed to be the mother.
But I think you shouldn't fix on the age - the story is in any way a metaphorical one too.
If a girl starts her menstrual cycle, even as young as 8 or 9, and yes this does happen, then she can get pregnant.
shareI don't know - if I recall correctly from 7th grade health class, a young girl can (however unlikely) become pregnant before she has her first menstruation - and some girls begin menstruation as young as 9 or 10. Agrin (I don't recall the name "Riga") seemed to be around 11 or 12, which (like the other poster mentioned) stresses the metaphor for her helplessness while still operating in a realm of reality.
I'm pretty sure she was being chased, attacked, and assumedly raped during those flashbacks. The little boy was her child, but she as she acquired him through such traumatic events (and was so young!) she was unable to act and believe that she was his mother. Also, she and her brother may have seen their parents murdered or tortured, and this would affect anyone's ability to parent properly.
the girl's name was Agrin, the baby (her son)was called Riga
shareYes, Agrin is the girl and is played by Avaz Latif. Riga is the little boy played by Abdol Rahman Karim.
When they are in the tent Hengov wakes up and sees that little Riga is missing. He wakes ups his sister and asks her where Riga is.
I think that Satellite might also call Riga by his name when the little boy is in the minefield.
You may also take into mind that she may look younger than she is. I had a feeling she was 13 or 14...which makes it around the age where she could have become pregnant even if it were a few years earlier that she was raped judging by the talking ablities of the child, Riga.
There were enough hints in the flashback, and in her comment to her older brother that "what they had done to (her)" had made life unbariable, that it was obvious she had been raped by the soldiers and had a child as a result.
Riga also calls her "mommy" often and her older brother encourages her, in speaking and through his actions, to accept the child which makes it so it is certain the child is hers.
Yes, though she looked far too young, Agrin was raped by Ba'athist soldiers. That is why she keeps trying to murder Riga; he's the son of the murderers of her family.
shareIn fact, she talks about Riga as the bastard, and makes it clear that he is the son of her rapists and she can never truly love him....that is one of the many hearbreaking things about this movie...little Riga was completely innocent, but his mother hates him and kills him.
My favorite opera is Die Valkure...I've always loved horses.share
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Okay.. maybe I was just trying to find more meaning within the girl than there's supposed to be, but I thought that she might be a metaphor for the USA. At first Satellite likes the idea of the US coming and likes Agrin. He then realizes she's fairly ugly inside and may only cause harm to him (he did almost get blown up because of her), just as the U.S. may not actually solve his problems. "Didn't you want them to come?"
Any other thoughts?
my opinion is that the girl is one of the most representative characters in this film, and one of the most damaged and affected by war,(i really dont think she's ugly inside...she's just a destroyed life) for example...its shown the huge difference between the mayority of the children and her, everything is like part of a game, they enjoy following satellite and playing around ,of course in not very favorable conditions...but they're still kids... and their innocence within, but then you see Agrin...this frail girl of no more than 14 or 13 years, whose family, innocence, childhood, pride, dignity and a lot more important things (to live appropriately...or even to live)has been stole in the most vile way, those soldiers took her parents and life with them, and like if that wouldnt be enough, she got in her belly the remembrance of the most awful episode in her short life... Satellite is a very intelligent boy who fell in love with that delicate and intriguing girl who had "a little brother" and a handless older brother...he's still in his non-real-world where american people are almost gods, fire arms are just toys, and the concept of "risking dozens of children's lifes, to get landmines so he could buy an antenna", as a bad idea its stupid for him...the reallity of the situation for him is presented when he realized how it feels to be wounded, to fail or be helpless in an important situation where he is directly involved...all that kind of experiences changes up his mind...and discovered the extreme cruelty of war, and life in that conditions...............
(its like a very fast review of the process that every human being go over, but there are people who spend their life without advertising all the *beep* out there... about hunger, war, death, the whole situation of refugees...and just a ridiculous tiny part of the people who is able to help do it..... i really wish that could change in the future)
hola ja aj lo encontre!!!
mmm... no la vi (la peli)
bueno adiew
luego nos vemos en la school
I apologize in advance for this post....however, after reading the comment"she is fairly ugly inside" I cannot help but be compelled to respond . The girl is NOT ugly inside....what has happened to her during her short an sad existence is what IS ugly. Watching your village be destroyed, seeing her parents murdered, and being raped by numerous soldiers......not to mention giving birth as a CHILD to the product of that rape would make anyone bitter! The poor girl obviously hated herself as much as that baby ! I found her to be a victim of a vile and animalistic government that left her with no home, no support , no peace and absolutley no hope.
shareWhat I understood of it, she was raped.
The blind kid was her baby, I think.
ohhhh...come on people....didnt you watch the movie???....it was obvious she was raped (by several soldiers)...and yes....riga (or whichever the little boy name was)was her son...........and she didnt hate him...she just couldnt accept him as well as she could never accept what happened to her and her whole family. .................................
jaja pero como q da = no¿?¿? bueno =mente felicidades por tu cali.....
shareI agree. She didn't hate the child, although I wouldn't exactly say that she didn't try to kill him. I mean, come on - she tethered him to a cord in a mine field for goodness sake.
Satellite didn't realize until the end that Riga just might not be what she needs. But, just because of one glance of the Americans going down the roadway, I don't think that Satellite was instantly turned off to the Americans because of one scene where they're passing on the roadway. He received such positive news when he was lying in the bunker (although it was said that they (the Americans) were "watching the prohibited channels with the children").
Does anyone have any idea what that kid gave to Satellite at the end? Was he given Riga's shoes? If so, what does that mean and why is he almost disgusted to see the Americans passing?
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>>why is he almost disgusted to see the Americans passing?
>Because he has lost the fantasy of control that has previously held him together.
Before the Americans came he used to be the coolest guy in the village, almost as if he was American. When the Americans came they took _his_ sattelite dish up on the hill and showed all the kids the prohibited channels. Also he had been hurt by an american mine. And the baby (Riga) that he saved in the mine field had been drowned by the girl he was in love with (Agrin). His whole world fell apart when the Americans which he admired so much arrived.
I agree she looked WAY TOO YOUNG, but sadly, very young girls there (and everywhere) that has happened to as a result of rape.
An excellent,though heartwrenching and sad movie. Every single character was immediately endearing, even though we couldn't understand their beautiful language. It opened my eyes to how spoiled and lazy I am as an American! Made me appreciate where I live, what I have, my freedom, my loved ones, the military fighting for our freedom, etc.
Sad to see those kids living in tents, working landmines, etc. This stuff really happens there and elsewhere in countries:(
she wasn't a victim of rape because in the Muslim world; "rape" is very rare and odd, because the sentence for such a crime is DEATH (stoning) and therefore "rape" is not as common as western world by far. But back to the topic, in the Islamic culture, getting married at early age is something very common and so my guess is that she was taken.
On every street in every city, there's a nobody who dreams of being a somebody.
Kaaveh, it WAS rape. They even showed it in a flashback where the soldiers are chasing after her in the rain.
shareThe director said himself, that she was victim of a rape.
shareShe definitely was raped. Blind boy is her child. However, I found much of this information depends on how much the viewer intuits. Some people I know had no idea, and therefore, took a dislike to the girl. Others figured it out. Regardless, the fact that there are even questions about it, just shows you that the film was pretty vague about the mother / child relationship.
Who says rape is rare in Islamic countries? the thing is people won't talk about it becasue they don't want to lose face...remember when the girl was telling her brother what would we tel people about him(her son) when he grows up? what will we tell him? in the movie it was very clear that several soldiers raped her and it was a heartbreaking scene.
shareyou are an idiot and obviously didn't watch the movie.
shareWhat an incredibly ignorant thing to say! Rape occurs everywhere in the world, whatever the punishment may be. I have a friend in Pakistan who tells me all the time about the horrible things that happen - women get raped and not enough witnesses come forward, so the rapists aren't punished. Sometimes a rape is considered a matter of honor done for retaliation - look up Mukhtaran Mai (even her brother was raped by the same men that raped her!). Also, in a war, an incredible number of women are always raped in the chaos. It's amazing how people can just turn their faces away from these things and pretend they aren't happening, and say "rape is very rare"!
shareThere's the ideal, the way people of a certain religion are supposed to behave, and then there's the reality of how people behave during war. She was raped. The soldiers killed her parents, maimed her brother, tried to drown both her and her brother and then gang raped her. It's just not possible to interpret any of that as "marriage".
This is a very old thread, but I had to respond.
shippermd:
>It opened my eyes to how spoiled and lazy I am as an American! Made me appreciate
>where I live, what I have, my freedom, my loved ones, the military fighting for
>our freedom, etc.
You really don't get it do you? If you feel appreciation for your lifestyle then something's wrong.
Your so called freedom is worth millions of "foreign" lives, so I hope you feel safe in your oversized fish bowl.
?? I'm sorry?? You make little sense. I should NOT feel appreciation for my life, then? This movie made me REALIZE how sad that millions of foreign lives ARE being lost....I don't understand your comments.
Shipper
This movie was about the war in Iraq which has taken the lives of half a million innocent people and another million has died by diseases after your country's "libaration" of Iraq. As you said, the American military is fighting for your freedom only, to get the oil they need so you (not you specifically, but your fellow americans) can drive around in Hummers and big trucks. It's all connected, your lifestyle and the wars you watch on your TV. It's sad that millions of lives are being lost, and it's sad that it's all over oil and political power.
shareIt's sad that millions of lives are being lost, and it's sad that it's all over oil and political power.
I AGREE with you. Please do not argue or debate, because I will not feed into that. I AGREE that ALL war is bad NO MATTER WHAT THE REASON. I am no longer going to post here, as I never meant to get into anything debate/political-wise.
Shipper
Ok.. My reply wasn't about you in specific, but you said some things I find typical for many Americans. What offended me was that allthough you realize how "spoiled and lazy" you are as an American, you don't seem to want change it. You even seem to appreciate your military killing people so you can keep your lifestyle as it is. I really hope you didn't mean that and that I'm wrong. USA need to give up it's "way of life" and it's megalomanic fantasies of total world supremacy, or we'll soon have world war III.
I'm done arguing too. Sorry if you felt attacked, it was meant as a comment to all Americans.
All I meant to comment on was the movie, and how sad and well-made the movie was. Please do not get into any political debates/arguments here. I hope that we all reach world peace very soon, and not via war, death, etc.
Good Luck to you.
Shipper
I am a Muslim Kurd and I can assure you the girl, Agrin, was raped in this movie. Someone said something about rape not being used or whatever, we have the word but you don't hear it often. It was only Saddam's men that raped women. I am not sure what you mean by being stoned. Did you mean that the girl that was raped has to be stoned? Because this is completely insane. I mean the poor girl didn't deserve that and you think someone will actually stone her for something that she didn't do? I am not sure if I understood you correctly. Well I agree with the United States wanting our oil but lets think of how much they have done for us Kurds. I mean they got rid of Saddam Hussein. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done. I also agree, to some extent, that Americans want to control the world but you know what every country wants it but they just don't have as much power as the United States. I read someone said our language was beatiful... Why thank you! lol
Hi. I am so happy to hear of your opinions from over there of what USA did for eradicating Saddam:) And yes, I agree, your language is soooo beautiful! I wish you life-long peace and prosperity for you and your family and country.
Shipper
(Am American Female)
Thank you! I was only speaking the truth. :-)
sharedear kchikurd11, do you live in Iraq? I am a bit confused where the movie was actualyl shot, some sources say the border of Iran -Turkey, another source says it was the border of Iran -Turkey. Are all kurds muslim, or there are christian kurds as well? in this moive: Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand , the kids are muslim kurds as well? I loved this movie a lot and would like to make friends with kurds now :)
shareMost Kurds are Muslims, but there are some Jews and Christians (some of whom speak Aramiac rather than Kurdish).
Its fairly obvious that at the end he was disillusioned with the americans, they had just blown off his leg and brought about the death of an innocent child, hence why he turns away from them as they cross the road.
No, I don't live in Iraq. I live in the United States. I think the movie was shot in Kurdistan, Iraq. Kak Bahman Qobadi is a Kurd from Iran so I think some scenes were shot there. I am not sure though. No, all Kurds aren't muslim. We have Jews, Christians, and Yazidi's( I am not sure what it is called in English). The kids in the movie are Muslims. I know by their names. Most Christan Kurds I know have American and European names. The Christian act a little different than the muslims. They dress a little differently. You want to make Friends with Kurds? I am Kurd and you can be my friend. Lol Sorry my reply was a little late.
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The girl's name is Agrin and Agrin comes from the word Agir... which means fire and her name was Bahdini even though she spoke Sorani.
The little boy was Riga and his name means a road or a path.
Hengov means step. Like when you take a step towards something. For those who thought some of the kids spoke differently, that is because they spoke different dialects. They are all from different parts of Kurdistan. Kak Satellite is from my hometown, Slemany.
The name of this movie Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand is Persian. The Kurdish name for the movie is Kesalakan Afrin( Keesaalaakaan aaafrrin).