Ghost School (2025) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for every mention of jinns or ghosts
Take a Drink: whenever the teacher is mentioned
Take a Drink: for any discussion of marriage
Take a Drink: when politics rears its ugly head
Do a Shot: whenever someone is condescending to Rabia
Do a Shot: whenever bribes come up
By: Henry J. Fromage (Two Beers) –
While the Indian subcontinent is often well-represented at film festivals, and especially at TIFF, Pakistani film specifically doesn’t often make an appearance. It’s nice to see that hopefully changing with this film.
Ghost School follows a curious young girl as she investigates the purported haunting of her teacher and/or school that has resulted in its closing- at least for the day, seemingly indefinitely, and possibly permanently.
A Toast
One has to begin by complimenting young actress Nazualiya Arsalan, who plays 10-year-old Rabia and appears in every scene and practically every shot. She’s natural, sharp, and inquisitive as befits the character, and holds the screen like a pro. Props to director Seemab Gul for directing this performance as well (and in general for the polished and engaging nature of the film).
Rabia starts by simply asking the questions the others, including or especially the adults, elide over. Her innocence and intelligence lead her from person to person up the chain. She may have begun by inquiring into the nature of the haunting of her school, but as she gets answers, this film becomes a parable for more temporal and mundane societal ailments. It turns out that “Ghost School” is a pejorative in Pakistan for a not-at-all supernatural phenomena.
Gul inserts this more serious-minded narrative into a lovely portrait of a small community and local culture in Pakistan seen through the eyes of a child who loves where she’s from. I especially loved the soundtrack, which is full of sitar and simply transporting when coupled with shots of the surrounding landscape, which may be nothing to write home about in aggregate, but demonstrates the beauty that can be found anywhere if you know where, or perhaps more importantly, how, to look.
Beer Two
A quibble, really, but when we finally do enter the haunted school, it’s hard not to notice it’s awfully large to hinge entirely on the absence of a single teacher.
I also both quite liked the ending, and felt it a bit of an awkward fit with the rest of the film.
Verdict
Ghost School is a beautifully rendered ghost story of a different kind- reflecting man-made malaise through the eyes of a particularly bright child.
