BiTS ’18: Altered Skin

There is nothing like a zombie outbreak to overcome resistance to modern medicine. Gone are the days when Pakistani militants targeted vaccinating health workers, as documented in Tom Roberts’ Every Last Child. Now, one of the world’s largest Big Pharma companies is in Pakistan, thanks to the infection slowing patch. Business is booming, but they have a dirty secret an American expat is desperate to uncover in Adnan Ahmed’s Altered Skin (trailer here), which screens as part of this year’s Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival.

It is hard to say whether those inflicted with the MN-2 virus are full zombies per se, or just viral outbreak victims. Regardless, these “carriers” will eventually descend into a state of mindless rage. Tragically, Craig Evans wife, Dr. Insiya Zia will soon be one of them. She is currently in a medically induced coma after contracting the virus from a patient, but time is running out for her.

It is already too late for muckraking TV journo Shehzad Amin, but his widow is convinced Evans is the right person to expose her missing husband’s murderers. Evans is rather skeptical, but when he gets a whiff of something funny at the drug company, he starts investigating in earnest. Zia’s life might depend on what he uncovers.

Although mostly in English, Altered was shot entirely in Karachi, by a mostly Pakistani cast and crew. Admittedly, there are some pacing issues, but the film’s professional-grade production values far exceed expectations. Ahmed maintains a gritty vibe of foreboding that is really quite impressive. The entire ensemble is also quite polished, particularly Aamir Qureshi, who is excellent as Amin in flashbacks and taped television reports.

As Evans and Zia, Robin Dunne and Juggan Kazim make a convincing married couple. He is also sufficiently credible as the dogged, bull-in-a-china-shop Westerner. Throughout it all, Ahmed gives viewers a vivid sense of nocturnal back alley Karachi. It is a dangerous environment, precisely because it is so easy to lose oneself in it. All things considered, it is pretty good. Recommended for fans of rage-berserk viral-mutant outbreak thrillers, Altered Skin screens this Friday (11/23) during BiTS 2018, in Toronto.

SAIFF ’14: Dukhtar

Zainab is supposed to be the child-bride daughter of a child-bride mother. At just fifteen years old (frankly, not so very young by Islamist standards), Allah Rakhi (meaning “God protects”) was married off to a much older tribal chieftain. Now her ten year old daughter is to be a peace-offering to any even older rival clan leader. Refusing to consign her daughter to a fate worse than her own, the mother flees with her child into the mountains in Afia Serena Nathaniel’s Dukhtar (trailer here), Pakistan’s official foreign language Oscar submission, which screens tonight at the 2014 South Asian International Film Festival.

Allah Rakhi’s initial escape is rather clever, but she does not have much a plan after that. She really has nobody to turn to, since her “husband” has prohibited any contact with her family since their marriage. Since Zainab is now considered the property of creepy old Tor Gul, both clans are out to capture her and kill her mother. That would be their idea of “honor.” Into this misogynist tribalism drives trucker and former mujahidin veteran Sohail. At first, he is reluctant to shelter the fugitive women, but he soon becomes their ardent protector. They will need him.

Let us be clear, nobody is terrorizing Allah Rakhi and their daughter because they are upset about drone strikes or resent America’s friendship with a democratic state like Israel. No, it is simply the thing to do for its own sake. This is a harrowing depiction of institutionalized misogyny and the pain and desperation it causes. Yet, as bracing as Dukhtar is, Nathaniel’s symbolic imagery often has a poetic beauty. She and her cinematographer tandem of Armughan Hassan and Najaf Bilgrami also vividly capture the vast splendor of the mountain vistas, so the film isn’t just a slap in the face.

Nathaniel gets a critical assist from her leads, who are surprisingly subtle, but still deeply expressive. It is particularly powerful to watch Samiya Mumtaz convey all the fear, confusion, and anger Allah Rakhi has been forced to guardedly bottle up. She also forges some ambiguous but genuinely touching chemistry with Mohib Mirza’s Sohail, who handles his own significant character development arc rather sure-footedly. Even young Saleha Aref is quite grounded and believably restrained as Zainab.

Watching Dukhtar leads one to abandon all hope for Pakistan, but the mere fact they submitted it for Academy Award consideration (and the likely attention that comes as a result) could be considered a hopeful sign. Despite a rough patch here or there, Dukhtar is a compelling narrative, featuring several mature, well-balanced performances. It is an important film for multiple reasons that demands a wider audience. Enthusiastically recommended, Dukhtar screens tonight (11/22), as part of this year’s SAIFF.