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Yasmin (2004)
Yasmin - political topic wrapped in an interesting story
The film Yasmin directed by Kenny Glenaan 2004 depicts the consequences of the terrorist attacks of September 11 for Yasmin, a young Pakistani woman who tries to live a modern western life in England.
Yasmin already has to deal with the bogus marriage with her cousin Faysal, the worries about her brother Nasir, who deals with drugs, and also with her father who wants Yasmin to act like a traditional Pakistani woman.
Nevertheless Yasmin is getting along with her job and the little taunts from her colleagues. She even has a car and is a bit in love with John who she works with.
After September 11 Yasmin has to endure more rejection than ever, even by John, as from now on the Muslim community is looked upon with fear.
Yasmin is the one who is stuck between her wish to live a life as independent as possible and her responsibility towards her family and religion. She is not interested in politics and other than her brother she cannot relate to the terrorists.
Her father sticks to his religion but he is also ashamed of people's view towards the Islam resulting from the attacks.
Faysal actually gets accused of being involved in terrorist movements but he is the one who does not really know what is going on outside his house.
Not knowing how to react and who to trust John represents people's reaction towards the Muslim community.
These are characters for everyone to identify with because there are so many different personalities are featured in "Yasmin" which is one reason for me to recommend the movie. It does not only show the terrorist attacks' aftermath from one specific point of view but from various angles.
The director makes clear that many innocent people who had nothing to do with them have been affected by the incident on September 11, and that they have led to an increase in terrorist movements. First the world accuses a too large range of people, of whom many then respond with actually giving the world a reason for accusing them.
Thus I can say I like the film and recommend it especially to students. It is a serious, political topic wrapped in an interesting story. The abrupt ending leaves space for the audience to think about what might happen next to Yasmin, though I think it is too much space.