I'm always a bit apprehensive to see that a film is over a hundred minutes long as I fear it might be a bit of self indulgence from the director. However, this film was riveting for every single minute.
The characterisation was finely nuanced, there were no caricatures here. The Salafist preacher was a goodlooking guy with an English accent not some Abu Hamza al-Masri or repulsive raving "Hook Hand" so beloved by the UK press as a means to criticise Muslims. The gay young Iraqi guy Mohaned was out and proud in some ways but not in others because of the culture he was surrounded by. Amal was torn by the culture she had been brought up in and her desire to live a free life in London. Some of the older exiles despite their communist beliefs and embracing of liberty were still stuck with cultural baggage they could not shake off even after half a lifetime in London.
The grooming of the young guys at the mosque was chilling in the telling. The bewilderment of the parent and family at the change in Nasser was painful to see. Any grooming for a nefarious purpose is evil, but the film showed the utter contempt of the extremist religious leaders for the lads they were duping, something that real life terrorist recruiters have admitted.
This isn't just a story about religion and politics; there's human interest and relationships too. These were given an added frisson by the cultural milieu. As so often, women were the practical ones and more accepting of deviation from cultural mores.
Flashbacks to Iraq were interspesed with scenes of the present day. Toufiq kept his integrity even under interrogation both then and now. I saw the ending coming but not Amal's epilogue which was poignant in its yearning.
I watched with subtitles for both the English, Arabic and Kurdish parts. The actors switch languages rapidly from one to the other and one misses on occasion that they have suddenly started speaking English. There is a version of the film available that subtitles just the non-English parts. I'd advise doing as I did.
I'm still thinking about this film some hours later and the issues it raised. It's a brave film and a powerful statement against extremism. I strongly recommend it.
The characterisation was finely nuanced, there were no caricatures here. The Salafist preacher was a goodlooking guy with an English accent not some Abu Hamza al-Masri or repulsive raving "Hook Hand" so beloved by the UK press as a means to criticise Muslims. The gay young Iraqi guy Mohaned was out and proud in some ways but not in others because of the culture he was surrounded by. Amal was torn by the culture she had been brought up in and her desire to live a free life in London. Some of the older exiles despite their communist beliefs and embracing of liberty were still stuck with cultural baggage they could not shake off even after half a lifetime in London.
The grooming of the young guys at the mosque was chilling in the telling. The bewilderment of the parent and family at the change in Nasser was painful to see. Any grooming for a nefarious purpose is evil, but the film showed the utter contempt of the extremist religious leaders for the lads they were duping, something that real life terrorist recruiters have admitted.
This isn't just a story about religion and politics; there's human interest and relationships too. These were given an added frisson by the cultural milieu. As so often, women were the practical ones and more accepting of deviation from cultural mores.
Flashbacks to Iraq were interspesed with scenes of the present day. Toufiq kept his integrity even under interrogation both then and now. I saw the ending coming but not Amal's epilogue which was poignant in its yearning.
I watched with subtitles for both the English, Arabic and Kurdish parts. The actors switch languages rapidly from one to the other and one misses on occasion that they have suddenly started speaking English. There is a version of the film available that subtitles just the non-English parts. I'd advise doing as I did.
I'm still thinking about this film some hours later and the issues it raised. It's a brave film and a powerful statement against extremism. I strongly recommend it.