AllMovie

Certainly, few nations have suffered from as beleaguered or as torturous a history as Pakistan - which emerged in the 21st century with not only one of the highest rates of violent crime in the world, but with an utterly blinding level of political unrest. Made to commemorate the 1947 declaration of Pakistani independence from British colonial rule, Pascal Lamche's sociological documentary Long Live Pakistan (Pakistan Zindabad) explores the inaugural 60 years of this troubled country. Lamche attempts to understand, via an exploration of Pakistan's tumultuous past, many of the complexities that exist on the present sociopolitical landscape, such as its relationship with Afghanistan, its unsteady and unpredictable transnational alliances, and its bitter ongoing feud with India. Throughout, director interpolates numerous key interviews with political movers and shakers, including one with the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto, filmed just prior to her December 2007 assassination.