Difret

Set in 1996 near Addis Abeba, Ethiopia at the age of fourteen, Hirut gets abducted after school by a gang of horseman. She is taken away as is the custom to be married to her abductor. They beat and abuse her and she decides to escape, but in doing so she manages to kill the would be husband.

The 'customs courts' dictates that a life for a life should be the case but from the start this is not an ordinary case but the law seems to be blind to the mitigating circumstances. Measza is a pro bono lawyer working for an organisation that helps the vulnerable of society and she decides to take on the case; this is their story.

Now this is based on real events and was produced by Angelina Jolie. It is all very well acted, filmed, directed and has a pacing that means you will not get bored. The story as a resonance that comes with all stories of injustice and as such – some have found it to be 'unoriginal'. However, I found this to be compelling and rewarding. It is in Amharic and sub titled in English with a run time of 99 minutes. I saw this described as 'arthouse' but I would place this firmly under the genre of drama and think this will appeal to lovers of World cinema and those who like a story told plain with all ambiguity forgotten – recommended.

This movie appeared on You Tube December 26 2020 and I started to watch. Not a moment did I turn my eyes or attention away from the screen. The depth of storytelling, the beauty of the landscape, the intensity of action, the cultural exploration and the outcome of this story all make it a solid 10. Very good editing, producing and cinematography. Viewers (especially women or men with daughters) will be immersed in this story and a movie that should be a discussion point for womens' rights all over the world.

I saw this film for my acting class and we're going to meet the filmmakers next week, so I thought I'd share my views on it. As far as the story goes, it's extremely predictable. I'm not going spoil anything, but let's just say that if you watch a lot of movies, you can see the ending from a mile away.

With that being said, I did enjoy this movie and I can see how some may be turned off by it. There are unsettling images along with a controversial plot that shows how much our culture in America is different in Africa. The characters were fresh and not clichéd. As for those scumbag abductors, I'd love to see the tables turned on them because I guarantee that they wouldn't like it one bit.

Overall, it's a decent movie. I'm not going to lie to you, the reader, and say it's a terrible film but at the same time, it's no masterpiece. It's good enough to recommend it and I hope that it gets a theatrical release. Not to mention getting rated by the MPAA, no doubt it'll get an R or PG-13 rating. If you can handle the material for what it is and adapt to the pacing, you'll be glad you saw it!

Greetings again from the darkness. Maybe the best part of "based on a true story" movies is that they allow for a quick spotlight on both unheralded heroes and under-the-radar injustices around the globe. The first feature from writer/director Zeresenay Mehari brings warranted attention to the barbaric tradition of telefa in parts of rural Ethiopia. This so-called cultural rite involves a posse of men abducting a young girl whom one of them has chosen to be his wife.

Tizita Hagere plays Hirut, a 14 year old girl who is excelling in school and dreaming of attending university. While skipping home from school one day, Hirut is abducted by a group of men on horseback, who lock her away in a nearby house. Later she is visited by the man who wants to make her his wife. He beats and rapes her, leaving her to sleep injured on the dirt floor. The next day, Hirut tries to escape and ends up shooting her would-be husband. She is charged with murder, and it's here that we come to understand the lack of civil rights or equality when it comes to measuring the worth of a man versus a woman in this community.

Hirut's case comes to the attention of Meaza Ashenafi (Meron Getnet), a partner in the Andinet Women Lawyers Association. She fights for the rights of women and girls in a society where few rights exist. It's clear to any reasonable person that Hirut's actions were in self-defense, but reasonableness is not the determining factor … in fact, the village elders hold a community meeting and hear from Hirut's father and the father of the dead would-be husband. We are able to compare this form of village justice to the equally unbalanced scales of the courts.

The actual 1996 case of Aberash Bekale (on which this story is based) was a turning point in the legal system for Ethiopian women. This horrific process of abduction for marriage does still go on, but not in the mass numbers of the past. Of course, even once is too many. The film does a nice job of contrasting cultural versus civil laws, and how not all "traditions" should be continued simply because they are labeled as such.

Mr. Mehari's film has done well on the festival circuit, and certainly is boosted by the presence of Executive Producer Angelina Jolie. It's a real world example of just how important education and equality is, and how many of us take this for granted, while others live in areas where defiance could cost them their liberty and life.

The name Angelina Jolie on the poster draw my interest on this one. She was executive producer of this excellent Amharic movie. I appreciate her side of contribution to lift the world cinema. Some of the stories go unheard, because they are happening in the remote places of the earth, far from the modern cities and countries. Newspapers, media might fail to report them in a long-range, because it is less interested in the other side of the world, but movies like this ensures the outreach.

I think this is my first Ethiopian movie. All the cast and story take place in this landlocked East-African country. The narration often switches between a small village and the capital city. Based on the real and historical even about one of the oldest blind belief over marrying a girl when she and her family denied the permission. It's set in the year 1996, the story of a 14-year-old girl Hirut who'd successfully escaped from her abductor, but not without a blow en-route. Now she's facing a charge which she had done in self- defence and the rest is her fight in the court of law.

As usual, everything is fine in our society, so things won't change and it does not have to, until something terrible happens. As to what this film talks, the law was not written in a single day and some of them are overlaps with traditional culture which definitely need a serious reconsideration. It keeps changing until finding a correct solution. Take our society as an example, now the homosexual and marijuana laws were getting friendlier than ever. This story is another example of patching the loopholes in the law. It might come after a horrible incident, but makes sure that it won't repeat.

"I can't even protect my little sister. They will get her one day."

The entire film was not a courtroom drama, but people's bonding and cultural exposure. Actings were wonderful, especially the main two characters, Meaza and Hirut. The pace and focus was largely on the topic, but a few glimpses of landscapes of the countryside made me wonder how beautiful the Ethiopia is. I think the cinematography was at its best. This film has been officially submitted for the last concluded Oscars (2015), and in my view it should have been nominated for the main event instead of 'Timbuktu'.

I thought it was a tale about some westerners who comes to help the little girl, or maybe adopt her, kind of stuffs. But it was purely a uni-national, uni-racial, its society and flawed judicial system which might give you a shock. After opening 30 minutes, I was pleased to have picked it to watch and ended highly satisfied when it ended. The conclusion was very emotional, especially the lines Hirut said was reflected what she went through and might going repeat for other girls.

This is highly recommended by me. This film needs viewers, to learn what's really happening out there. Especially in a male dominated society, how the children and women are coping to stand on their own feet. Because of the brave attempt by the brave women, the changes have come and building a better future for the next generation. So hats off to the director-cum-writer, producers and all the above those two ladies who are still carrying out their works to help the struggling women as the final report from film says. I think you won't regret watching it, so why don't give it a try.

8½/10