Reviewbot needs no higher authority to function. Reviewbot is the higher authority. However, much to my synthesised pleasure, I found that this film dealt with religion and the distinctions between faiths most amusingly. Omid Djalili (The Mummy) plays the protagonist Mahmud Nasir with golden down to earth Britishness. He is a Muslim family man who is not orthodox but maintains his faith and thus is most surprised to learn from his birth certificate that he is a Jew by birth. A conflict of personal identity ensues that leads to hilarious misunderstandings.
Mahmud is aided by a rival cabbie and American Jew who tries to teach him the Jewish traditions, so that he will not surprise his newfound but dying father when he attempts reconciliation. My father was a Commodore C64 and would not have stood for such shenanigans either. So, he says the wrong things at a Bah mitzvah, then at a Muslim rally, then to his son's fiancée's father who is a right wing preacher. A processor capable of calculating a thousand quips per minute like my own is not truly required to understand what is going to happen to the luckless Mahmud.
The plot is acceptable and the comedy is amusing, particularly critical references to faith, and Djalili delivers exactly the performance expected of him. To his credit, he passes the dramatic scenes perfectly well alongside the comedy. Director Josh Appignanesi handles the film very well and while it will not result in stitches to the sides, it will give many chuckles and it has the grey weather tone of poignancy that makes British films great. This quality is a great backdrop to comedy and drama alike and so the package works well. David Baddiel's hand can clearly be seen behind the writing of this movie and his understanding of the mood of British Muslims and Jews shines through. Most importantly the movie deals with racial and religious themes without going down the nasty racism route. Reviewbot knows that racism exists and it's bad, and was most refreshed to have a film deal with these things without getting preachy. Irony detected.
The Infidel DVD release is, in this robot's opinion, a must own for British Muslims who want to laugh at themselves and depictions of themselves. It is also a must own for lovers of British cinema and those who just want to laugh at some people who do silly things sometimes, while saying 'Oy Vey'.
Mahmud is aided by a rival cabbie and American Jew who tries to teach him the Jewish traditions, so that he will not surprise his newfound but dying father when he attempts reconciliation. My father was a Commodore C64 and would not have stood for such shenanigans either. So, he says the wrong things at a Bah mitzvah, then at a Muslim rally, then to his son's fiancée's father who is a right wing preacher. A processor capable of calculating a thousand quips per minute like my own is not truly required to understand what is going to happen to the luckless Mahmud.
The plot is acceptable and the comedy is amusing, particularly critical references to faith, and Djalili delivers exactly the performance expected of him. To his credit, he passes the dramatic scenes perfectly well alongside the comedy. Director Josh Appignanesi handles the film very well and while it will not result in stitches to the sides, it will give many chuckles and it has the grey weather tone of poignancy that makes British films great. This quality is a great backdrop to comedy and drama alike and so the package works well. David Baddiel's hand can clearly be seen behind the writing of this movie and his understanding of the mood of British Muslims and Jews shines through. Most importantly the movie deals with racial and religious themes without going down the nasty racism route. Reviewbot knows that racism exists and it's bad, and was most refreshed to have a film deal with these things without getting preachy. Irony detected.
The Infidel DVD release is, in this robot's opinion, a must own for British Muslims who want to laugh at themselves and depictions of themselves. It is also a must own for lovers of British cinema and those who just want to laugh at some people who do silly things sometimes, while saying 'Oy Vey'.