Hidden Forces: Childhood, Commerce and Cost in Granaz Moussavi's 'When Pomegranates Howl'

Depicting the connection between an Australian photojournalist and a young boy in Kabul who dreams of fame and wealth, Granaz Moussavi's film presents an affecting but unvarnished portrayal of growing up in poverty in a war-racked nation. While the gruesome realities of the two-decade-long Western occupation of Afghanistan and ongoing civil conflict are mostly left implicit, Moussavi's representation of her young protagonist carefully subverts universalist notions of childhood innocence, Kit MacFarlane writes.

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war crimes, SAS, Australian Defence Force, special forces, markets, Miracle in Milan, My Tehran for Sale, acting, tourism, authenticity, Andrew Quilty, One Perfect Shot