[Review] Yasmin
Oct. 15th, 2005 01:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brabbel123Yesterday I went to see "Yasmin" in the cinema and I can tell you that this movie is well worth watching. It's about a young Muslim woman in Northern England who tries to fit in with both worlds, the western world and her Muslim background her father wants her to be part of. The movie is set before and after the events of 9/11 and deals with the suspicions Yasmin is suddenly facing, just for being Muslim, and the reactions of her family towards the attacks which range from open horror and helplessness to a strange sense of content and redemption in Yasmin's brother who eventually joins the terrorist movement and returns to Pakistan. And through all the turmoil, Yasmin finally has the strength to find her own way - not, as the cliche would have it, by completely adapting to the western society, but by accepting her Muslim upbringing and finding her place *without* denying this part of her life.
As I said before, I was deeply impressed by this movie. First of all, it's the story of a young woman who struggles to find her own identity. In the beginning, she's leading sort of a double-life, at home she's the obedient daughter, taking care of her family, including her husband who she only married in order for him to get the "green card" to stay in England. Outside, she's a modern young woman, she has a job, gets on well with her co-workers etc. But then, one day her life is turned upside down. In the "outside" world, she suddenly faces prejudice and suspicion, even loses her job and friends. And at home, she finds herself at odds with her dominant father. At first, she tries to separate herself from her family, leaves her husband and gets in turn thrown out of the family by her father. In the end, she is reconciled with her background and her father who, while being pater familias, faces this whole situation rather helplessly, loses his son and almost his daughter before realizing that he is no longer in control over what happens to any of them and starting to accept this new life... This struggle within Yasmin and between her and her family managed to touch me on a very emotional level, especially since this film doesn't rely on cliches or other tear-jerking moments. Even though my background is very different from Yasmin's I could relate to her and the pressures she's under.
The second facet of this film deals with the different reactions caused by the 9/11-attacks. We have the already mentioned suspicions, we have unwarranted arrests of Muslims by the police on the one side - on the other, there's revulsion, a need to become "invisible" and thus less of a target, helplessness... and there are those who suddenly find a way to vent their frustrations, who become susceptible to charismatic leaders and who finally see a way to make their lives meaningful by joining the "cause". It's a very fine line between showing what could motivate a young man to actually join the terrorist movement, and making the audience feel for him, and I think this film managed not to cross it.
Overall, I can only recommend you watch this film, it's definitely worth your time and money.
As I said before, I was deeply impressed by this movie. First of all, it's the story of a young woman who struggles to find her own identity. In the beginning, she's leading sort of a double-life, at home she's the obedient daughter, taking care of her family, including her husband who she only married in order for him to get the "green card" to stay in England. Outside, she's a modern young woman, she has a job, gets on well with her co-workers etc. But then, one day her life is turned upside down. In the "outside" world, she suddenly faces prejudice and suspicion, even loses her job and friends. And at home, she finds herself at odds with her dominant father. At first, she tries to separate herself from her family, leaves her husband and gets in turn thrown out of the family by her father. In the end, she is reconciled with her background and her father who, while being pater familias, faces this whole situation rather helplessly, loses his son and almost his daughter before realizing that he is no longer in control over what happens to any of them and starting to accept this new life... This struggle within Yasmin and between her and her family managed to touch me on a very emotional level, especially since this film doesn't rely on cliches or other tear-jerking moments. Even though my background is very different from Yasmin's I could relate to her and the pressures she's under.
The second facet of this film deals with the different reactions caused by the 9/11-attacks. We have the already mentioned suspicions, we have unwarranted arrests of Muslims by the police on the one side - on the other, there's revulsion, a need to become "invisible" and thus less of a target, helplessness... and there are those who suddenly find a way to vent their frustrations, who become susceptible to charismatic leaders and who finally see a way to make their lives meaningful by joining the "cause". It's a very fine line between showing what could motivate a young man to actually join the terrorist movement, and making the audience feel for him, and I think this film managed not to cross it.
Overall, I can only recommend you watch this film, it's definitely worth your time and money.
