Plot
A young lawyer travels to an Ethiopian village to represent Hirut, a 14-year-old girl who shot her would-be husband as he and others were practicing one of the nation's oldest traditions: abduction into marriage.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 6.6/10 (433 voted)
Critic's Score: 60/100
Director: Zeresenay Mehari
Stars: Meron Getnet, Tizita Hagere, Abel Abebe
Storyline
Three hours outside of Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In her village, the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopia's oldest traditions. Meaza Ashenafi, an empowered and tenacious young lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self-defense. Meaza boldly embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding by customary law, risking the continuing work of her women's legal-aid practice to save Hirut's life.
Cast: Meron Getnet -
Meaza Ashenafi
Tizita Hagere -
Hirut Assefa
Abel Abebe -
Militia Man
Shitaye Abraha -
Etaferaw Teshagen
Genene Alemu -
Dr. Tamrat
Semahegn Alemu -
Customary Judge
Teferi Alemu -
Village Judge
Deribwork Assefa -
Mrs. Belaynesh
Haregewine Assefa -
Membere Yohannes
Hiwot Assefa -
Emmet - the secretary
Yohannes Belay -
Alemu
Mehret Belete -
Militia Man
Getachew Debalke -
Mr. Hiruy
Yeneneh Engedawok -
Village Teacher
Tewodros Jembere -
Customary Judge
Trivia:
"Difret" is based on an actual drama that took place in 1996 and whose main protagonist was Aberash Bekale, a young Ethiopian girl. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 6/10
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!
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