Rebel English Academy

Pakistan’s 1977 military coup sets the stage for this farcical and nightmarish depiction of state-sponsored violence from Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes). Two years after Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is deposed, he’s hanged by the new government, sparking intense protests and a wave of self-immolation. When army intelligence captain Gul bungles his assignment to procure a publishable photo of Bhutto’s execution, he’s banished to the provincial OK Town, where he embarks on a series of drunken sexual escapades. Hanif alternates Gul’s story with that of Sabiha Bano, whose husband was found dead in a fire and initially thought to have burned himself in protest against Bhutto’s execution. The police discover he was shot, though, and want to question Sabiha, prompting her to hide out at an English language school. Meanwhile, when a drunk Gul finds a videotape of a woman’s rape, he falls in love with the woman and vows to save her. Noticing that she speaks English in the video, he searches for her at the school where Sabiha is hiding out, and the two story lines entwine. The conclusion is somewhat abrupt, but Hanif strikes a successful balance between the darkly humorous and the deadly serious, particularly in the depiction of Gul, who devolves from a drunken lout into something more sinister. It’s an unsparing view into human depravity. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander. (Feb.)