MovieChat Forums > Kabul Express (2006) Discussion > Was Linda Arsenio's character pretty muc...

Was Linda Arsenio's character pretty much unnecessary?

posted 13 years ago by Kawada_Kira
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I personally feel that she was pretty much a dead weight. More like a prop than a character. I'm not saying I hated her or something, or even that i'd prefer it if she wasn't in the movie (I might, but that's not my point here); just that she seemed pretty useless. Of course there was the part where she put on the burqa so she could go find Imran's daughter, but other than that, her presence in the movie seemed basically pointless. I think that the particularly lazy writing for her character shows that the filmmakers didn't care much for her too. I don't know if she was there to be a token American, or a token woman, or what.

What do you think?

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[–] fliphop 8 years ago

the dialogue could have used work, it was extremely awkward sounding. her accent of course is fine but the phrases and expressions, are not american sounding. "lets go see this Taliban" for example. Most Americans would say 'lets go see him'.

however having an American in the film was fascinating in my opinion. Her discussions of the nature of war media hit home, in a way that is extremely familiar to me American . I don't know how things are in Indian journalism, but in America it can make you a star and there is a degree of naked obsession for blood in a lot of coverage. Calling it 'gore' is a level of honesty you will almost never hear.

For example. People like Dan Rather got exposure covering the Vietnam war. Wolf Blitzer got his fame during the first Persian Gulf war in 1991. And on and on. Peter Arnett's book is a brilliant example of this, although he is Australian, he worked for CNN. There are a few other films and books that touch on it. Catherine Keener's acting in War Story for example.

So if the movie is about disparate people together in a car for a few days... she fits in perfectly. If the Afghan war was truly the crossroads of Afghan, Pakistan, and American people then they are all here. The Indians are the observers. Just a theory.