The Breadwinner                             4 ½ stars

The Breadwinner has to be one of the most enthralling and fascinating animated films I have seen in quite a while.  It takes us into the world of Afghanistan during the time when the Taliban have taken control while focusing on one eleven year old girl and her family.  We live through the suffering that this family goes through as the young self-righteous soldiers of the Taliban inflict unimaginable cruelty on those who cannot defend themselves.  Parvana’s father is forced into prison for nothing more than matter of factly addressing a soldier.  When the family is left with no male adults the women are beaten for the crime of walking alone in public trying to buy food.  Parvana then cuts her hair and passes as a boy to go on a quest to free her father from jail.  The story is aided by the stories Parvana tells about a young man trying to save his village by confronting the monsters that have stolen their seeds for crops.  The movie is done with very expressive and colorful animation and treats its characters as very real and believable.  The Breadwinner is suitable for adults and children, though perhaps not for the very young because of the acts of cruelty portrayed.  The Breadwinner is done by the same studio that made The Secret of Kells and The Song of the Sea, two of the best animated films of the last several years.