Kabul, Between Prayers (2025) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for prayers (gauge your tolerance for blasphemy)
Take a Drink: for delicious-looking food
Take a Drink: for civilian harassment
Take a Drink: signs of American occupation
Do a Shot: when martyrdom comes up in conversation
Do a Shot: when Baby’s First AK
By: Henry J. Fromage (A Toast) –
It’s only been four years (nearly to the day) since the U.S. Army pulled out of Afghanistan and the democratic government there immediately collapsed, with the Taliban sweeping into Kabul on their heels.
Kabul, Between Prayers follows two brothers living in this new Islamic state, one already a soldier and the other a teenage boy who looks up to him and appears to be destined to follow in his footsteps.
A Toast
Post-Taliban usurpation, life goes on. One wonders whether the street vendors and homeless consider the differences much if at all (well, the male ones, anyway). The older brother is part of a motley crew of Taliban putting all that military equipment to work acting as police, with disturbing jokey interaction with a citizen on the street in which he brandishes his weapon on him, or a scene of his group harassing a female taxi passenger at a traffic stop demonstrating why standing Armies on public streets are something the U.S. Constitution has a lot to say about (not that it’s exactly proving very preventative in the U.S. right now…)
The teenage brother is actually a scarier figure to me- his blank stare when interviewed made my skin crawl slightly, as does the way he parrots the militant ideology he’s been steeped in his entire life. This is the oldest story of organized religion providing a mechanism for control- the kid repeats something he’s clearly heard- that martyrs are allowed to bring 10 people to heaven with them. I’m no expert on Islam, but that sounds like a new one.
The older brother’s efforts to learn English are an interesting wrinkle, as well- what for? Motives either humane or terrifying spring to mind. Director Aboozar Amini simply sits and observes, and in doing so deeply delves into the mindsets of young men who’ve grown up in a world of conflict and aggressive radicalization. The next generation appears to be thoroughly brainwashed. There’s absolutely no end in sight, but then again, “who knows who will invade Afghanistan again?” certainly has no shortage of historical precedent.
Verdict
Kabul, Between Prayers is an enlightening and somewhat terrifying gaze into an entirely different worldview, though one no less human than ours.
