Powerful, insightful, frightening and surprisingly amusing, this documentary gives us unprecedented access into the inner workings of the Taliban as they returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Review #2,989
Dir. Ibrahim Nash’at
2023 | USA, Germany | Documentary | 92min | 1.85:1 | Dari, English & Pashtu
M18 (passed clean) for mature theme
Cast: –
Plot: Immediately after the US pullout from Afghanistan, Taliban forces occupied the Hollywood Gate complex, which is claimed to be a former CIA base in Kabul.
Awards: Nom. for Luigi De Laurentiis Award – Best Debut Film (Venice)
International Sales: United Talent Agency (SG: Anticipate Pictures)
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Slightly Mature – Taliban; Post-US Afghanistan
Narrative Style: Straightforward
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Slightly Arthouse
Viewed: The Projector Cineleisure
Spoilers: No
Even the Taliban has Tree Planting Day. With unprecedented access, director Ibrahim Nash’at risks his life by seeking to document the Taliban as they return to power after the ignominious exit of the American military from Afghanistan in 2021.
Being a history and politics fanatic for a long time, I find that Hollywoodgate hits all the right checkboxes for viewers, especially those with a particular interest in the larger Middle East region.
For one, it’s eye-opening, not just allowing us to see the daily activities of the Taliban (we primarily follow the Chief of Air Force) as they take over a former CIA base in Kabul, but also the lives of civilians, which we see in montages that are somewhat few and far between.
Indeed, the focus is on what goes on behind the various ‘Hollywood Gates’, housing billions of dollars of military equipment left behind to be resurrected by the resourceful Talibs.
“The Americans left us an enormous treasure.”
As the people in power get their acts together, Hollywoodgate at times feels like another day in the office, as tasks are assigned and folks undergo training.
Although frightening to comprehend at times (case in point: in a grand ‘march-past’ ceremony, we see a contingent of suicide bombers proudly zooming past in their motorbikes), Nash’at’s work can be amusing.
Regardless of their anti-West political ideology and widely documented vile treatment of women, the Taliban are humans—some can’t do basic math, others are inefficient in their stocktaking, and everyone wants a piece of the crumbling American pie.
A powerful and insightful work, Hollywoodgate will make a great double-bill with the even more disturbing Of Fathers and Sons (2017), which shares a similar modus operandi, as the film’s director, Talal Derki, gains access to part of the radical Islamic Caliphate in Syria. It is no surprise, then, to find out that Derki was also a writer and producer of Hollywoodgate.
Grade: A-
Trailer:
Eternality Tan 