“不情愿的原教旨主义”,这部电影是改编自2007年的同名小说,巴基斯坦Mohsin Hamid作者。这部电影不像大多数的后的电影,你见过的。它围绕着一个年轻的巴基斯坦人,Changez汗,谁敢住美国梦,但面对痛苦的现实,把灾难性的9/11袭击。不技术,让我把它简单的我能——“不情愿的原教旨主义”是一个“现实”的描写平均巴基斯坦,他们必须不得不面对生活的影响在美利坚合众国前/中/后9/11。中涉及种族歧视问题一直是一个非常微妙的方式。此外,主人公不接受极端主义的突然发作,患者由于治疗,他是由怀疑美国人因为他的宗教。并不是所有那些被冤枉了,最终得到武器和血。这是电影的核心原则。是的,这是正确的路要走。一名18岁Changez汗(Riz Ahmed)移动的拉合尔和去美国学习,因为他不想在经济上是无能的像他的诗人父亲(Om宫)。 Changez wants to live the American dream and make it big in life. And he does that, at least initially. In his early 20s, he lands up a job as a financial analyst at a big firm, where the Managing Director Jim Cross (Kiefer Sutherland) takes him under his wing. Changez shows his mettle very early into the job and impresses his colleagues and his head Jim. The man even manages to find a great partner in Erica (Kate Hudson), a creative, independent woman coping up with the loss of her boyfriend. Back home, even though his father isn’t too impressed with the kind of work that Changez does, things get a lot better – financially. Changez’s situation begins to go wrong as the twin towers go down in New York City (September 11, 2001 attacks). Suddenly, he is at the centre of it all – only because of his colour, nationality and religion. While he is at the job, not once is he looked down upon or judged owing to his religion before/after 9/11. However, one incident at the workplace and one while he is working outdoors, really changes his perspective and makes him take an extreme decision. How it gets him face-to-face with an American authority Bobby Lincoln (Liev Schreiber) at a coffee shop in Lahore in 2011, is what ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ is about! The film seems a bit long at 130-odd minutes, but the story is immensely gripping. Changez’s politics defies anything else portrayed in films made on similar subjects. There are a few moments in the second-half, when one feels that the story is digressing from the main issue. The climax is a bit half-baked, the only genuine complaint that I have with the movie. However, the monologue at the end will make you forgive every infirmity within the film. The best things about ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ are – it doesn’t celebrate America, it doesn’t offer terrorism as an unresolvable issue, it doesn’t justify extremism in any manner, it doesn’t offer any sympathy to those who pick up weapons after being wronged by society, or any other ‘cliché’. The film offers change! The lead character speaks on several occasions about how the weak would have to become more self-reliant. Music plays a very important role in the film’s screenplay. The lyrics (which are mostly in Urdu but aided by well-translated English subtitles) are absolutely out-of-this-world. Even the poetry had so much to say between-the-lines. If you do end up watching the film, listen to the poetry and the lyrics/ keep a close watch on the subtitles. Another notable aspect about this film was the selection of the locations. Here, Pakistan looked like Pakistan, Turkey looked like Turkey and USA looked like USA. Thankfully, there was no make-believe stuff here! The lead actor Riz Ahmed has done a brilliant job as Changez. The other actors in the ensemble, including Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Liev Schreiber and Imaad Shah, deliver amazing performances. Don’t want to get too technical – but the people behind the music (Michael Andrews), cinematography (Declan Quinn), editing (Shimit Amin), casting (Cindy Tolan) and production design (Michael Carlin) must be lauded. Director Mira Nair is back in form, and how! If you’re not into history/current affairs, you might find this film slow and disinteresting. But, I’d suggest that you watch it anyway! Revenge is no solution, friends. Let’s work towards making our own lives better and ignoring negativity! Shivom Oza
