Movie Review: ‘Rule Breakers’ – A Powerful Underdog Story That Champions Women’s Education

Education should be a fundamental human right, ‘Rule Breakers‘, a film inspired by true life events highlights the harsh reality that for some, education is a privilege that they have to fight for.

The story set in Afghanistan is emotionally driven and follows Roya Mahboob’s extraordinary journey as she battles against societal norms, patriarchal beliefs, and life-threatening dangers to mentor the country’s first all-girls robotics team. Director Bill Guttentag gives this narrative a sense of urgency, that captures the struggles of Afghan women and girls whilst also telling a take that is an inspiring underdog story that feels both personal and could be relatable for many people from different backgrounds.

The film opens in 2017 in Herat Province, where Roya (played by Nikohl Boosheri), is already making waves as an entrepreneur determined to teach IT skills to young girls. However, she has a bigger vision. She dreams of starting an all-girls, computing and robotics team to compete globally. This might seem like a simple goal to many but for Roya she must not only face logistical and financial constraints, but she must deal with social pressures security threats and somewhat extremist resistance, particularly from the Taliban who rule parts of Afghanistan.

But despite these challenges, she also had to handle the doubts or people close to her as she is determined to give the girls from her community a feature beyond what they are being offered by the society they are surrounded by.

‘Rule Breakers‘ through its narrative sets the stakes high right from the jump. Education isn’t just a mere goal for Roya and her girl’s team. It is an act of defiance against a system that is designed to not give women an equal chance. The writers of the film do a great job of capturing the urgency and the severity of this. The viewer is put right in the middle of all the tension. So that you can almost feel the frustration as well as the fear that Roya and the girls have to deal with.

For many people, it would be hard for them to wrap their heads around the thought that something as simple as learning to use a computer could be seen as a dangerous act of defiance. But that is the reality for the people of Afghanistan that this film rightfully captures.

‘Rule Breakers‘ however suffers a few missteps in its narrative structure. The first act of the film seems to focus a lot on Roya’s backstory and seems to drag the film a bit longer than necessary. Considering that the film is more about her work with the robotics team and their achievements, you would expect it would not waste much time getting to that. But there are flashbacks and jumps back and forth in the timeline of events that make it all a bit confusing as well. Also, it feels as though the competitions, which should have been major highlights, are only partially explored, leaving a gap in the storytelling that could have further enriched the emotional stakes.

One thing that works well for the film is the strong character development, Roya and each of the girls on the team seem to have been well-written. Each of them is rounded with flaws and strengths that make them even more relatable. Also, their motivations and inspirations seem to be well captured and explained. The acting performances bring some light and life into these well-written characters. After all, it is not exactly clear if the girls portrayed in the film are the actual girls that Roya started the team with. The performances also capture in good enough detail the relationship between Roya and the girls and among themselves. As we get to see moments of vulnerability, fear, joy and resilience that all seem very authentic.

Visually, the film is grounded and immersive. The cinematography captures both the beauty and the harshness of Afghanistan, reinforcing the contrast between the dreams of these young girls and the reality they are forced to navigate. The direction keeps the tension high, ensuring that even quieter moments carry emotional weight. I can’t expect anything less from a film that is backed by Angel Studios.

‘Rule Breakers‘ does feel like an advocacy piece but it also feels sincere in its intent to capture details of a true story of sacrifice and resilience of Afghan Women. I will score this film 7/10.

It doesn’t offer easy answers or a neatly wrapped happy ending because the fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan is ongoing. Instead, it leaves us with an important question, what happens to those who are still there, those who didn’t get the chance to flee?