In the Pakistani mountains, a mother learns her young daughter is to be married to the ageing warlord of another clan. The child is heart-breakingly innocent (seeing her mother's bridal bed-linen, she asks what a spot on it is and listens as her mother explains it is her blood, and her mother's, and her grandmother's...) The mother runs away with the child, and men of both clans - focused on their 'honour' - chase after the pair.

The film then enters predictable territory, as mother and daughter receive help from a kindly truck driver, innocent people are killed, and amazingly stupid decisions are made (why, knowing men with guns are hunting for them, would the mother leave her daughter alone? It was *asking* for her to run off after the cute puppy...)

So the novelty of this film is its setting: Pakistan, caught between the traditional (child brides) and the modern (warlords communicating by mobile telephone). Lead actress Samiya Mumtaz gives a competent performance; as the truck driver, Mohib Mirza is fine when playing the action hero and in the more light-hearted bits, but struggles when required to convincingly emote. The initial escape is cleverly-staged and the scenery is lovely. I'd watch this again.

Dukhtar (دختر) "Daughter" is a new entry in emerging independent Pakistani Cinema. I was expecting it would be 3 hrs flick and first half of the movie will be based on the issues of "Dushmani" and "Jirga" and second half 'll be about their escape.

But Director concluded the "Dushmani" issue in first 15/20 minutes. (Thank You Afia Nathaniel).

Then we came across the astonishing beauty of northern areas of Pakistan...the mountains...The Ford Truck...Karakorum Highway....Plateaus...great frames and great colors filled with thrill of situation...innocence of characters...reality based sounds....

Seems...you are enjoying....but suddenly it ended....means film ended in a very unclear way....Therefore I said plot is weak.

Acting of Samiya Mumtaz (اللہ رکھی) is really good. Supporting characters also played well (Ajab Gull, Mohib Mirza).

Overall a good effort and good movie for art lover and serious audience. (Not just for sake of entertainment)

Last year's Waar made headlines everywhere because of the jingoistic message it brought. Dukhtar (Daughter) has so far been quite a mellow affair, partly because of its dealing with the poignant issue of child marriage in Pakistan's rural areas.

Shot absolutely beautifully in the North of the country, it is a story about the fierce love of a mother who is not about to give off her young daughter's hand in marriage to settle a tribal dispute.

One of the best things about this movie is that it doesn't get monotonous. The director, Afia, does an excellent job in keeping the story fast-paced with a load of twists and turns despite the relatively banal topic of the flick.

Acting-wise, I was impressed with all the performances except probably that of Mohib Mirza, the truck driver from Punjab. I think he wasn't the right-fit for the role because he visibly struggles to generate that Punjabi pang expected from him. However, this shouldn't be a hindrance in watching the film because the dialog is carried more than aptly by the rest of the cast.

The songs are refreshing, which brings me to another good point about the film; they don't last for an eternity and just are fleeting occurrences during scenes to accentuate the emotions.

All in all, Dukhtar is easily the best film to come out of Pakistan in 2014. It might not see the commercial success of Waar but it's story is infinitely better. A must see.