I am writing this review after the horror of Tuesday 9/11/2001. All of us have wrestled with the question of how and why would someone commit such an atrocity believing that their act was blessed and sanctioned by God Almighty.

As I asked myself this question I remembered this movie. I remembered the beautiful vulnerability of the face of Ayesha as she struggled with her decision to become a suicide bomber to seek justice for herself and her people after she discovers that she is pregnant.

Ayesha is able to telegraph every nuance of her thought and emotion as the camera slowly, painfully examines every pore of her skin, every lash of her dark, liquid eyes. While the premise of the film is fundamentally simple, by the time the film is over the sacredness of life and wrenching paradox of its questions has been intimately explored. As raw as birth itself this film is a rare piece of poetry.

This film is easily one of the best movies I have ever seen. The idea of seeing the human side of a guerilla-trained killer is amazing in itself, and the film lives up to that promise.

Ayesha Dharkar is an extremely talented actress, much more than just a pretty face. Her portrayal of Malli gives a real sense of the conflict between fatal patriotism and personal hopes, as Malli begins to question her personal beliefs for the first time in her life. Her rapid softening-up may be unrealistic, but it is still a haunting performance that causes the viewer to question, "Could I have made the same choice?".

The other characters play their purposes well, being cold (the guerilla leaders), frightened (the boy Lotus), or lonely and sympathetic (the old man Vasu). However, this is plainly Dharkar's movie.

The score is unlike any I have ever heard, mostly because of the unique Indian instrumentation and composition. It does create an incredible atmosphere of suspense, that grabs hold of the viewer and doesn't let go until the gripping conclusion.

The combination of these two elements with a well-paced script (seems neither too long nor too short) makes for an intense film with a lasting impact.

I thought "The Terrorist", a story about a young girl chosen for a suicide mission to serve her country was an excelent depiction of life in other places... the use of children in this movie was a great way to further the remorse... to think that for things like guiding people through landmine-staked forrests and assasinating powerful leaders they use children, its disgusting, but so full of truth that you simply can't deny it.

A large portion of the emotion left in this movie was seeing the main character experience her most precious moments over again, and seeing what they were like... even that was convincing enough to not want to go forward with her suicide mission. The truly sad part is, though, when we look at ourselves (meaning us from first world nations), and see that we have extrodinarily more complex and wonderful lives then those portrayed in this movie, but even with that in mind, even the most cold-blooded killer would rather remain on this earth, even in its horrible conditions, then simply die when given the choice. How can people commit suicide, you must wonder. We really do have a great deal of wonderful choices and ways of being in this life, and its a glimpse on another, much more sad lives that much us really understand it.

Overall, this movie was about love, compasion and the will to live in even the most cruel environments. It's a very sad movie, but it gives you a much lighter perspective on everything people like myself have to deal with. Life isn't that tough, you know, and if you need to be reminded of that, see this movie. It was a beautiful, compeling film, and I'd suggest it for any film buff out there, because it might be a little slow for the average viewer, but overall, an excelent piece of film.