The Infidel

source: The Infidel

I missed this at this years MIFF and was a little perturbed to read some so so reviews, but never one to believe everything one reads, I went to see it anyway. Good thing that everyone has a different opinion as I really enjoyed this. Written by David Baddiel the film explores the idea of identity and what that means in religion. When a Muslim man finds out he was adopted and was actually born Jewish it throws his life into chaos. Not only does this provide some very funny moments as he explores Jewish life by befriending a neighbour, whilst hiding the truth from his family, but it also presents an entirely fascinating idea. As a non relgious person, I found the idea that you spend your life believing one thing only to come from another amazing. That the film explores this with humour makes it easy viewing, but it also has a message about tolerance and understanding that is played out with subtlety and isn't shoved done our throats. Omid Djalili does a great job, his portrayal of the man torn between two ideas is natural and funny, without resorting to a stereotype. Excellent writing by Baddiel gives some great moments, many at the expense of faith, and in a way often shows how ridiculous religion is at times. The film fails near the end as a sub plot of an Islamic cleric actually being a 80's pop star falling flat, but otherwise this is a very funny and entertaining film. More of my reviews at my site iheartfilm.weebly.com

The Infidel (2010) is a film based on an original idea, but was executed poorly. The idea is good, thought-provoking, but the execution fell short of expectations. The film revolves around a Muslim man, who was shocked to know that he was adopted, and that his real parents are Jewish! And to make things worse, his real dad was a Jewish top-ranked personnel! He was so surprised to learn about it, and he was very afraid to let others know about it. And that has made his wife curious, especially after finding that his sudden change of attitude, which made her believe that he is having an affair. And his son, is marrying a Muslim clerics, who understands Quran by heart, and can versed it very well. So here's the dilemma; resume life as a Muslims, or embrace his new-found religion. What I like most about this film is the idea behind it. About religions, about people using religion to fulfill worldly needs. But what is lacking is the execution. It was done lazily, without much research being made on the religions portrayed. About the complexity of it all. A score of 5 for this film; a better rating had it being done better.

This seems to be two movies; one good, one not so good. It starts off well enough, seemingly like a Muslim Cosby Show. It shows the London Muslim community in all its diversity, from radical Islamists, to moderate Muslims who hate the radicals for making non-Muslims fear them, to even a liberal imam who's gay friendly. And all the scenes that take place within the Muslim community are really well written and acted. But then the central plot premise comes up: Mahmoud finds out he's adopted and - horror of horrors - that his birth parents were Jewish. At that point, the jokes start getting delivered with less of a rapier wit and more of a sledgehammer, but only when Mahmoud is dealing with his Jewish identity issues. Once he's back to dealing with his family again, things get funny and well-acted. But then we go back to the awkward writing and acting when he's trying to relate to being Jewish, and so it goes. If they'd just cut it down to a movie about moderate vs. radical Muslims, it could have been really good. But unfortunately, it's a really uneven film that feels like a waste of good talent and should have had a better writer and director. 5 stars.

I was looking forward to this having found Omid Djalili funny on TV. But I switched off after 5minutes because of the vile language. I am not a prude and don;t mind the odd word, but it seemed to be almost every other word was a curse and the use of the C word totally unnecessary. It seems David Baddiel cannot do comedy without foul language or hiding behind a much funnier partner. So give this film a miss if you are offended by crass, gutter humour as I am. Awful, terrible, silly waste of good acting talent by Mr Baddiel I say!

Omid Djalili plays Mahmud, a decent, easy-going family man of very moderate Islamic views (does not pray five times a day, does not really fast on Ramadan, and takes more than a sip of alcohol now and again). It is the highly sympathetic and humorous Djalili, with his wondrously expressive face, that holds the movie together. Mahmud thinks he is a Muslim through-and-through until he is stunned to discover that he was born of Jewish parents and was adopted, weeks old, by a Muslim family. A sincere man, he wants to find his birth parents, and this immediately throws him into the nexus of two worlds: Muslim and Jewish. The possibilities are endless. Sadly, while the movie produces some very sympathetic sketches, and it is good for a laugh or two, you will regret what might have been. The fundamental premise of the movie is artificial. First, Islam does not recognize adoption as we understand the concept. Second, Muslims in general and Pakistanis in particular live in a semi-tribal system of extended families, so there is no chance such an adoption would be a secret. Third, the rabbi's behavior, when Mahmud tries to visit his very old and dying birth father, is inexplicable by any Jewish principles. Finally, Islam is a proselytizing religion, so having been born Jewish would not make Mahmud any less Muslim. Do not imagine, therefore, that by watching this movie you will come to any deeper understanding of Islam or Judaism. In the end, the severely artificial premise of the movie corrupts it irretrievably. You should watch the movie for the performances, all which are very good. You will have a laugh or two. You will enjoy it. Then forget it.

Omid Djalili stars as Muslim who finds out that he was actually born Jewish. This creates an identity crisis that under normal circumstances would have been bad enough, but is compounded by the arrival of a radical cleric who is set to join his family. Amusing comedy that I saw as part of the Tribeca Film Festival on demand service. This is a rather low key film with most of the jokes coming not from set ups and punchlines, rather from the interaction of the characters. This is not the raucous comedy of some of the recent big budget films, rather it's something smaller. I like the film. It made me laugh and chuckle and it distracted me for a couple of hours. However as you can tell from my lack of raging enthusiasm in either a good or bad direction is didn't make a huge impression on me. Frankly I saw this film a week ago and I've been putting off writing up the film while I went to screenings at Tribeca (I have written up the 15 other films I saw, but this one flagged behind) It is worth seeing, it will amuse you, and I do look forward to seeing it again myself, however I'd wait for TV where its low key comedy will play better.

Viewed at the Festival de Film 2011, Cannes Omid Djalili is a brilliant comedian. So is David Baddiel, the writer. But The Infidel's biggest weakness is its contrived and less than fully functional script: a proud Muslim man discovers he's actually Jewish. Roll on the floor clutching your sides? Afraid not. It's not that the film's heart is in the wrong place, but it wears its liberal credentials and heart so openly, flaunting them on both sleeves, so desperate not to offend it takes no risks whatsoever and comes over as, at best, anodyne. Yes there are some good laughs, but they are occasional and not frequent enough. Instead, we get the author using the characters to give a wave-the-index finger lecture about the need for all of us to get on and look below the surface that is religion and judge the person. Problem is, for many people religion is more than surface deep but the core of the individual, so all reality is missing from this film. Just pause for a second and consider how a strictly religious community would most likely react to discovering one of its members is actually batting for the other side, as it were. Well, fair enough, this is meant to be a comedy, which brings me back to my main criticism: it's not that funny. Omid Djalili has his moments, rolling his eyes and floundering around as his whole life and identity is turned upside down. He also has the perfect white, liberal, Guardian-reading, Channel 4-viewing person's ideal of the perfect Muslim family. Like I say, contrived to the nines. This is an audience that doesn't need this film because it's already presold on it. Will the film change the mindset of the less tolerant members of the community? Of course not, because they won't go see it anyway. As entertainment it falls flat because it's too preachy, too well intentioned, telling you to eat your broccoli and explaining why it's good for you. In fact, if all concerned were not part of the charmed inner circle of British film making, The Infidel would never have got made to start with, any decent producer rejecting the script at the outset.

I felt disappointment at the end. But not because there is anything wrong with it. Just that I really want something to hit the nail on the head with Israel/Palestine/Antisemitism/Islamophobia and get rid of this huge problem. Though why would one expect a comedy to do such a thing? The reason I am so desperate to see an end to these conflicts is because they are so difficult to resolve. And because, in my opinion, they are the biggest stimulus for all the terror nonsense going on these days. Why young men get their legs and more blown off every day, people get bombed and shot, air strikes destroy ambulances, loads of people go around being racist, security checks take forever and Western nations end up torturing people thus ruining their credibility when trying advocate human rights. What a mess! This topic is under publicised considering how important it is. Too little is said. And when I see/hear people discussing it I too often see/hear people rigidly stuck to a position from which no meaningful compromise of opinion can be reached without heat, anger, shouting, conflation of issues etc. The film does address the issue and I think boldly. Inevitably some people will find this offensive to both Muslim and Jewish people. I am neither (though I know plenty of both). But I like the fact that it has characters coming out with all the racist BS that gets said - and makes it sound ridiculous like it is. And there are 'good' and 'bad' characters from both sides. The thing about the racist 'BS' mentioned above is that a lot of the criticism that falls on entire religions/races is appropriate when aimed at individuals belonging to those groups. It's the blanket generalisations that are wrong and annoy me. I felt that it helped to demonstrate that it's individual idiots, not idiotic peoples, that give huge numbers of people a tarnished reputation in the eyes of those unwilling to think too hard about all of this. And I am happy this film has done that. I suspect I might review how highly I think of this film at a later date. Did it seem less funny than it could have because of the subject? Or was I willing it to seem funny because I was happy with what it was trying to do? I know I will laugh upon remembering some scenes and ideas. It should be watched.

This is a funny movie, which is unfortunate, because the humor is used to deliver anti-Jewish and anti-Israel lies and stereotypes. While the slant is basically anti-religious on both sides, the anti-Semitis goes unchallenged, leaving a poisonous taste. It no doubt reflects the general state of mind in Britain and the Muslim community, but that is no excuse. The only good thing about it is that it gave some work to Jewish actors. It is not on the level of My Beautiful Launderette, by far. As Hanif Kureishi is mentioned in the course of the movie, it bears comparison with his fine work. It is tacky. It is a vehicle for its executive producer, to be sure, and a very good actor who plays his son. The hiring of Richard Schiff would seem to be an attempt to give it legitimacy. But by all means, watch it if you want to see a rabbi get punched, another tacky and meaningless Bar Mitzvah ceremony and other such statements.