THE STORY – Vyan, a Kurdish female sniper, has survived war by shutting down her emotions. When she learns her younger sister, believed lost during ISIS’ 2014 assault, may still be alive in Mosul, she returns to a city shaped by death and destruction. Her search becomes both a rescue mission and a confrontation with the trauma she has spent years trying to silence.
THE CAST – Avan Jamal, Thorbjørn Harr, Kanar Sarchl & Kader Jalal
THE TEAM – Halkawt Mustafa (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 110 Minutes
A sister’s love knows no bounds, and as Halkawt Mustafa’s intense, pulse-pounding war revenge drama “No Paradise If You Are Killed By A Woman” shows, there’s nothing one woman isn’t willing to do to save hers. Set following the 2014 Islamic State assault on Mosul, Mustafa puts us squarely in the middle of the devastating and frightening realities of the region through the eyes of one special woman who has risked it all to survive. Featuring an incredibly fearless performance by Avan Jamal, who has to navigate so many emotional demands as a female soldier seeking justice, it’s a film that is brutal, hard to watch, and captivating all at once. It keeps you glued to the screen, leaning forward until the very end.
There are many ways to tackle a war drama, and in Mustafa’s case, he draws out suspense every chance he gets. The film opens on a slow zoom into a ravaged city about 25 kilometers north of Mosul in 2016. It’s not safe to walk around freely, as there are people ready to shoot at any point, but that doesn’t deter Vyan (Jamal), a Kurdish female sniper, from going after her mission. As she slowly makes her way through the ruins and into enemy territory, cinematographer John-Erling Holmenes Fredriksen meticulously captures every moment by trailing her. It’s enough to get your palms sweating and keep you on the edge, waiting for someone to pop out at any moment. Once she reaches her destination, she coolly and calmly kills an IS member and frees a young girl from captivity. But her true mission, saving her younger sister Helin, who was taken by the extremist group two years prior, is far from over.
As a member of the Peshmerga, a Kurdish military force that translates to “those who face death,” she has survived war by shutting down her emotions. Taking down IS members doesn’t faze her whatsoever, as she slows her breathing and meticulously finds the right shot with each trigger pull. It’s the definition of badass to see a woman, let alone all the female Peshmerga members, face off against a group that views them as less than, takes away their freedoms, and punishes those who reject their rules. Vyan knows that firsthand, having faced so much tragedy in her past. After leaving Iraq for Norway several years ago, her family decided to return to their home country for a vacation. That trip turned into a nightmare when extremists killed her parents and took the young women into slavery, forcing them to endure horrors. (Violence is heard but not shown on screen.) Vyan managed to escape through terrifying means and was saved by the Peshmerga, but her sister Helin remains captive somewhere. Seeing how Jamal plays this woman, head held high through every part of this journey, is truly remarkable. It’s a performance that weighs heavily on you, especially when reliving her past, but also one that gives you hope that better days are ahead.
Vyan’s fight for her sister comes with risks at every corner. At one point, she takes on a car bomb, which leaves her in the hospital for three weeks. When she’s eventually taken back to Norway, she’s confronted with a weighty decision about her future. Does she go into a Norwegian protection program, where she’ll have to give up her identity and any future fight for her sister, or does she remain on her course? As we’ve seen with Vyan so far in this film, nothing will steer her away from her sister, and her mission becomes even more dire after she receives a frantic and desperate call from Helin. After she learns that her sister is wed to a Swedish sniper, Vyan heads to the Mosul frontline to finish the job. She’s the only woman among the soldiers, and, again, it’s incredible to see how she stealthily handles each situation and how she doesn’t show any fear. Among a sea of helmeted men, she takes a stand by not wearing one and by not covering her hair/appearance – things that would literally get her killed by the extremists stationed not too far away. As she takes her position on a rooftop, where she has to stay low because there are snipers everywhere, Mustafa draws out certain scenes again, showing us the painstaking tasks Vyan has ahead of her and just how dangerous every inch of this landscape can be. Nearby sounds of sniper fire and shots of people being killed come frequently, and each moment continues to rattle the senses and grips viewers further into this story.
As “No Paradise If You Are Killed By A Woman” heads toward its conclusion, the anxiety, fear, and suspense never let up. An intricate underground tunnel system is home to any number of catastrophic consequences and enemies, but Vyan faces it all bravely, even though her weariness is starting to show. When she puts it all on the line, it further shows how mentally and physically tough she is to keep going despite so much death and destruction around her. Enough can’t be said about Jamal’s commitment to this role and how she portrays this woman with heart and prowess every step of the way. The precise camerawork and editing in the final stretch will make you hold your breath as she approaches the enemy line, and you can only hope she doesn’t make any wrong move in the process.
To say Mustafa’s war drama is terrifying, intense, and a living nightmare is still underselling it. It’ll make you jump, it’ll make you lean forward and back in your chair from so much action, and it’ll make you want to hold your loved ones tight as you witness atrocities that, unfortunately, are very real. It’s a tough film for anyone to sit through, but it’s all worth it to see Jamal’s fearless and powerhouse presence on screen. Though the ending comes with shocking results, it still finds ways to show us the beauty within familial bonds.
