''Afghan Luke'' is a 2011 Canadian

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Mike Clattenburg Mike Clattenburg is a Canadian television and film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as creator, executive producer, writer and director of the TV comedy series ''Trailer Park Boys'' (2001–2008), for his work with ''This H ...

. The central character, Luke Benning (

Nick Stahl Nicolas Kent Stahl (born December 5, 1979) is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film ''The Man Without a Face'', co-starring Mel Gibson. He later transitioned into his adult ...

), is a journalist investigating the possible mutilation (by Canadian snipers) of corpses in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, a country that appears increasingly incomprehensible and surreal as Luke undergoes a series of bizarre adventures.

Plot

Disheartened when his story about Canadian snipers possibly mutilating corpses in Afghanistan is buried, Luke (

) quits his job but is even more determined to return to Afghanistan to get the real story. With his offbeat buddy, Tom (

Nicolas Wright Nicolas Wright (born March 23, 1982 in Montreal, QuebecCBS biography of ...

), tagging along, Luke returns to Afghanistan and intends to gather enough evidence to get his old story into print. But he soon finds that the country is an even more dangerous place than when he left. To make matters worse, his old friend and fixer, Mateen (

Stephen Lobo Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

) has been hired away by Luke's journalistic nemesis, Imran Sahar (

Vik Sahay Vikram Sahay is a Canadian actor best known for playing Kevin Calvin on '' Radio Active'', Lester Patel on the NBC television series ''Chuck'', and Rama in the ''Roxy Hunter'' saga. Life and career Vik Sahay was born in Ottawa, Ontario, to India ...

). Soon the trip for Luke and Tom in Afghanistan turns into a surreal and perilous adventure, a journey into an alternate reality, filtered through a haze of gun smoke. They encounter Taliban raids, bombings and unfinished business with an Afghanistan businessman. Luke still makes his way through the wilderness with Canadian troops and Arabian guides to find out if his story is true or not. In the end, he realises that the rumour about Canadians mutilating fingers is a lie and that his people still have some morality in this war torn land. Just as he is about to leave, He and Sgt. Rick (a Canadian soldier who is the leader of the squad with whom he had been travelling) come under fire from a Taliban sniper, but the Taliban runs out of bullets and walks off, while Luke thinks he killed him. While they move back to the base, Luke runs into Matteen, where he finds out that they really do share a friendship. The last scene is where Luke decides to go home.

Cast

as Luke *

Nicolas Wright Nicolas Wright (born March 23, 1982 in Montreal, QuebecCBS biography of ...

as Tom *

as Mateen *

as Imran Sahar *

Pascale Hutton Pascale Hutton (born June 14, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She was born in Creston, British Columbia. Hutton attended the conservatory acting program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadia ...

as Elita * Steve Cochrane as Sergeant Rick Cahoon *

Torrance Coombs Torrance Coombs (born June 14, 1983) is a Canadian-American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Culpepper in ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010) and as Sebastian "Bash" de Poitiers, the illegitimate son of King Henry II of France ...

as Private Davey *

Ali Liebert ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

as Miss Freedom *

Colin Cunningham Colin Alexander Cunningham (born 1966) is an American television and film actor. Cunningham is best known for his roles as John Pope in the TNT science fiction series ''Falling Skies'' and as Major Paul Davis on ''Stargate SG-1''. Career Cunn ...

as Lieutenant Christer * Parm Soor as Ustad Mir *

Ron Lea Ron Lea is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles in ''Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." ...

as Mark *

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

as Lewis Black

Nomination

The film was nominated for a

Writers Guild of Canada The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of th ...

2012 Screenwriting Award and has appeared at the

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

, the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, Cinéfest, and the

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival eas ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Afghan Luke 2011 films English-language Canadian films 2011 war drama films Canadian war drama films Films about war correspondents Films about war crimes War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) films Films set in Afghanistan Films shot in British Columbia Films shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia Films directed by Mike Clattenburg 2011 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films