When She Hears the Bells

A tense, harrowing plunge into a collapsing city, where tenderness and dread press against each other until the air runs out.

Directed by

Chabname Zariab

Genres

Drama, Action

Starring

Golshifteh Farahani, Rohed Khan, Sayed Hashimi

Overview

Afghanistan, summer 2021. As the Taliban gradually seize control of the country, Leila, a young widow, arrives in Kabul. She begins working in a kitchen that she discovers is part of a Bacha Bazi house. Very young, androgynous boys there dance dressed as women before audiences of men. She meets Tamim, a Bacha whom she decides to help. She will try to save other young boys and leave the country before the city falls.

How it feels

Dark, tense, bleak and melancholic. Slow-burning and demanding.

About

Survival, isolation, trauma, freedom

Content

Strong violence. Mild gore, sexual content and language.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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