Motley's Law

Sometimes all you need for a grabby-enough documentary is a strong character. Kimberley Motley is definitely that: a bullish African-American-Korean lawyer (and former beauty queen) working in Afghanistan during 2013 and 2014. The only foreigner with a licence to litigate in the Afghan courts, we see her grappling with bureaucracy, corruption and differences of culture and language in Kabul as she represents her clients, including a former British soldier accused of fraud and a South African man charged with drugs trafficking.

Danish director Nicole Nielsen Horanyi gives us a solid portrait of Motley’s work and life in the Afghan capital, including a strong sense of the Kafka-esque Afghan judicial system and the constant threat of violence all around her. It’s a fairly superficial film, a patchwork of interesting moments and interviews rather than anything truly insightful. Still, Motley’s strength of character holds the whole thing together.