To Kill a Tiger
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Rape victim bravely seeks justice; disturbing violence.
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To Kill a Tiger
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What's the Story?
In April 2017, three Indian young men gang-raped Kiran, a then 13-year-old girl, in their impoverished village. TO KILL A TIGER lays out the long road ahead for the victim as, traditionally, both the victim and family are blamed for bringing shame to themselves in these cases. Sometimes to erase the shame, victims are married off to their rapists, obviously compounding the assault by forcing the girl to live forever with someone who attacked her. But this time, the victim's family fought back. We are told over and over that it's highly unusual for an Indian father to support his raped daughter. At his daughter's adamant request, this dad, Ranjit, presses the authorities to charge the rapists and punish them. The film documents the difficulty of a farmer who knows nothing of the big-city legal system needing to drop everything to appear in court at 7 a.m. or take a bus to the courthouse to meet with lawyers so he can learn about the process. The neighbors respond with threats and isolation. Even the local political representative sides with the rapists. Villagers also threaten the filmmaker documenting this story set in a society where patriarchy and misogyny have long been built-in. Karin, an extremely bright young girl, is lucky in that her parents recognize that the only way to remove this stain on her reputation is for her to get a good education and to help her achieve her goals in life, far from the stifling village.
Is It Any Good?
For bravery and good intentions, To Kill a Tiger gets an A-plus. It's satisfying to see a humble, poor farmer push law enforcement and the courts, despite major obstacles, to give his daughter her day in court and to bring three seemingly unrepentant rapists to justice. The film paints a picture of an openly abusive and misogynist society where men are never blamed for their terrible acts and blame is casually laid at the feet of female victims.
That said, the movie could use a good half-hour of trimming, with fewer shots of Ranjit looking thoughtfully into space. The movie would have been more digestible had it supplied information at the beginning that it reserves inexplicably for the last 15 minutes of a two-hour-plus running time: that a woman or girl is raped in India every 20 minutes, and that an estimated 90% of those attacks go unreported. Kiran's courage in the face of social pressure would seem even more stark and admirable than it already seems. Someone, noting the amount of violence against women in India, asks a sensible question: "Should we ask if there's something wrong with our country?"
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why it's wrong to force a woman who has been raped to marry her rapist, an idea that comes out of the notion that the rapist isn't tainted by the crime but the girl is, and therefore will never attract a husband.
How do you feel when one villager after another, both men and women, blames the girl for the rape and no one in the village blames the rapists?
When the villagers say they want the alleged rapists released from jail, why do you think none seem to care about bringing criminals back into the village where they might commit rape or other crimes again?
What role do you think stiff sentences for rape might play in deterring rape in the future? Most Indian rape victims don't pursue justice against their attackers. Do you think the events in this movie may embolden other victims to come forward, report their attacks to law enforcement, and pursue justice through the courts?
How do Kiran and her family show courage?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: March 8, 2024
- Director: Nisha Pahuja
- Inclusion Information: Female directors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Documentary
- Character Strengths: Courage
- Run time: 128 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: May 8, 2024
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