4 Star

Coming of Age in Afghanistan.

How much can you say in twelve minutes and forty-nine seconds, well when writer, director, actor Elham Ehsas (War Machine, The Kite Runner) makes a BAFTA and OSCAR® qualifying short film, one heck of a lot. As since the 15th August 2021 Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, and their oppressive laws, especially for the women. Or the guardian of a wayward woman.

An unnamed young woman (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh, The Phantom of the Open, Tyrant (TV Series)) wanders around the Bazaar, until she finds a store selling Chadari, as soon she will have to wear one whenever in public, due to Taliban laws.

Inside the store is a young man (Elham Ehsas) playing a rubab, but the owner (Ahmad Jan Mano) of the shop doesn’t want the Taliban hearing it, and we have a customer.

She says that she wants to buy a Chadari, and the young man explains their cost. At first the experience of putting on the outfit is light-hearted, and they even smile at her predicament at putting it on. The young woman can speak English, and she seems disappointed at the colour, “Blue”. She teaches the young man how to say blue, and brown, the colour of his shirt.

She says this one is broken, as she can’t see anything through the veil.

You’ll get used to it.

The young man leaves her on her own, as he goes looks for another outfit. With the Chadari on she stands in front of the mirror, and for a moment has fun wearing it, but it is brief.

On the television, a Taliban announcement about women that refuse to wear the Chadari, will be getting their guardians into trouble.

As she tries on another gown, you see the realization of what the rest of her public life will be like, and you see the light behind those young eyes dim and disappear.

Taliban rules that girls are banned from school, and women have been banned from going to University, and must have a guardian and wear the Chadari or Hijab whenever in public. They face an uncertain future, and these plights should be kept at the forefront of the World’s consciousness.

Yellow deserves to be seen by a much wider audience.