punishmentpark
Mostly thanks to the BBC, I've come to know Omid Djalili as a funny, sympathetic loudmouth and that's why I was willing to give 'The infidel' a go. It all starts out pretty good, but the combination of drama and comedy becomes more and more awkward toward the end, and the part where the imam turns out to be a former pop star just didn't work for me at all - even if it based on one Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens.The scenes between Djalili and Richard Schiff are quite funny, although the humour doesn't always work; the whole Bar Mitswa scene should have been left out completely. A lot of supporting roles were worthwhile, especially those by Miranda Hart (adoption agent), Matt Lucas (rabbi) and Leah Fatania (daughter).Too bad about the downsides, but still good to see a little film like gets made and aired on the BBC, that's why I'm being lenient with my rating; 6 out of 10.P.s.: one the best jokes was religion-free, by the way: Mahmud leaves his house and faces the camera. A 'wind' rises... he looks around mysteriously... the viewer imagines a UFO could be landing any minute...? No, it's a guy with a leaf-blower...
Spikeopath
The Infidel is directed by Josh Appignanesi and written by David Baddiel. It stars Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Yigal Naor and Matt Lucas. Music is by Erran Baron Cohen and cinematography by Natasha Braier. Mahmud Nasir, a British Muslim, goes through an identity crisis when he discovers he was adopted as a child and born to a Jewish family.It's a tricky subject to make a comedy out of, but by and large the makers have produced an enjoyable and observational pleasure. Led by the ebullient Omid Djalili as the conflicted protagonist, film unfolds in a series of sections involving Israel, Palestine, Antisemitism and Islamophobia. Along the way there are some great gags, both visual and vocal, but then it culminates in the inevitable message and relies heavily on a weak reveal. The motives and means are genuine, this is not an offensive movie, it has a point and for those who want to delve deeper there is much to kick off discussion. But ultimately it's a good comedy with strong themes of identity and family ties binding the racial hot points at the core. 6/10
dougmcnair
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.
danielpauldavis
The movie summary made it appear to be something else while the movie itself is a standard-issue situation comedy. The situation is a Moslem man cleaning out his recently-deceased mom's house finds her legal documents, including his adoption certificate. Thru a standard comedy quick-reveal, he finds out he was born to Jewish parents. What follows is satires on the reality on both being Moslem and being Jewish. In that respect, this movie should be shown to both groups and discussed because both groups are fairly represented. Exactly when a man must be the best Moslem possible (so his son can marry the girl of his dreams), he has an identity crisis. The question of his identity is resolved as one would expect, but the humor is in how he does that. The irony is that the only person this Moslem man can tell about his predicament is the Jew across the street from where his mom lived. So, yes, much of the angst wouldn't have happened if he'd been able to be honest with his fellow Moslems, which is another reason both groups should watch this movie. There were points where it was guffaw funny and points where it was painfully honest.
AD
