Is Dying the Only Way to Be Free?!

Have you ever heard that dying is the only way to be free? The statement makes no sense to most of us since in order to be free you have to be alive first. Surprisingly, it holds true for Bakhtay, a six-year-old Afghan child in a Hana Makmalbhaf film titled "Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame".

The movie has the same beginning and ending: the destruction of the giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, which happened in 2001. Between those two scenes showing the symbol of war, it shows a trip to of Bakhtay finding a way "to go to school and learn funny stories". By looking at the boy next- door reading, Bakhtay is determined to be able to read and learn funny stories. She doesn’t want to stay in the cave anymore, so she disobeys her mom and heads out in search of schooling. Her journey is a way to escape from a circle of violence and poverty that people in Afghanistan has been trapped in. In this movie, Bakhatay is the symbol of that change. The notebook that she tries so hard to get is also a symbol of the process of bringing change to life. However, this process, just like Bakhtay’s journey to school, is definitely not easy. On her way, she has to face many obstacles. She has to run back and forth between home and the market to trade food for money to buy a notebook. Nonetheless, the book is taken away from her and ripped off many times. While innocent Bakhtay is too clueless to help herself, she slowly realizes that she has to lose something just to achieve what she wants as the notebook lose pages during her journey to school. A man tears a page from her notebook and folds it into a boat to lead Bakhtay to the school. However, Bakhtay is not the only victim in the movie.

The boy gang imitating the Taliban is also the victims of violence and ridiculously strict rules that the Taliban has established. They present the Taliban and their negative influence on the kids. They play violent fighting games and arrest girls with beautiful eyes and pretty face. These boys are also trapped into the same cycle. There is no doubt that they are going to repeat the same terrible things that the Taliban did when they grow up. In addition, the imaginaries used in this film are striking. The falling kite catching fire is a great symbol of violence and it consequences. Nevertheless, the boys see it as a threat; and when the kite falls, it catches fire. The kite in this movie is not a toy anymore; just like the kids, they are not able to have a normal life like others. They have been brainwashed with violence and hate. The policeman trying to control the traffic while there is no transportation in a ghost town. The war has left the country with poverty.

On her self-discovery journey, Bakhtay tries many times to repel her fate. She refuses to play the fighting games. She says in tears: “I don’t like the war game. I just want to go to school and learn funny stories.” when they boy tries to stone her to death. On her way back home, Bakhtay, are chased by the “Taliban boys”. While her friend pretend to die so that they will leave him alone, Bakhtay still insists by running way until she has no way to escape. Then she starts to realizing and accepting the fate: “Dying is the only way to be free”. On her self-discovery trip, Bakhtay realizes the circle of violence and poverty created by the Taliban terrorists. Her attempt to escape from that circle fails when she lies down and pretends to die so she can find peace. The image of Bakhtay lying down followed by the scene of the statues destruction, which is also the opening of the movie, shows us the circle that Bakhtay and people in Afghanistan helplessly are trapped in.