Background setting, ethnic stuff

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2009)

Otherwise fine and watchable, it does lack
1. background research related to Afghanistan 2. Proper casting or, if Mr. Perfect must make it then make-up, costumes and language tutoring
Perhaps a third of the film is set in Afghanistan and there is no word in Dari or Farsi. Some of the guys can arguably be Pakis, yet no Pashto. Not even Urdu, just plain Hindi. Hindi? Whyyy? Since when have Indians got to guerrilla camps in Afghanistan?
I can admit to the Arabic, yet, the writing (on munition boxes and on the building) is nothing like the Nastaleeq required by the Persian tradition; it was rather plain old Tuluth. But the guys were nothing like Saudi as one would have expected (wahhabi) but looked very Middle Eastern (Palestinians or Lebanese, probably)
And why was that guy allegedly speaking Hungarian? A guy with a Muslim cap and long, curly, black hair? Hm!
And the scientist knows both Arabic and Hindi; very good for him! But he says he's from Kumira, which is in Bangladesh. He doesn't look Bengali at all. Perhaps high cast Indian, or a forgotten Muslim after the Partition.
And Stark says "shesh, besh' when playing backgammon. This is cool! While proper in an Afghan or even Middle Eastern Arab mouth, to have it said by the very American character out of the blue (with no other instances of any foreign language in the film) is ... funny.
Finally the refugees - they look more as of they came from Srebenica than Herat. The way women have their scarves tied under their chins is not proper (very Balkanic actually). And, why were there Caucasian looking men pursuing them? Wasn't the 'terrorists' band' supposed to be composed of the 'enemy'?
So, when Stark is done with the bad guy, he throws him in the afghan refugees' midst and says, in plain English "he's all yours' - like a regular Afghan would be fluent in English.
Then, what language is Obadiah speaking when visiting the camp?
And, the music has - sometimes - a sound of tabla, but so hidden that you'd miss it easily. No harmonium? It would have been so easy to find something better!
Finally the boy runs and shouts "baba" - the single consistent thing.
And the sweet guys responsible for this marvel (sic!)?
Is the ethnic localisation so superficial because it is supposed to be seen by people who don't understand?