TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Review of My Son the Fanatic

My Son the Fanatic (1997)

The short story is just better... but this isn't exactly bad

[7/10 · 17 November 2006]

We watched this in English class, after having read the short story, written by Hanif Kureishi. Going by how powerful the original text is, this is somewhat unimpressive. I think the real problem is that the short story was so compact, so rich in detail yet so brief, and it was thoroughly well-told. There are always problems when one lengthens a short story, and that fact is very evident here. There just isn't enough good material. There are attempts made at drama that fall flat, often due to the lack of proper build-up to them. Film requires more drama, stronger feelings. Maybe the story just wasn't suited for the medium. The original had the lead character's son filled with hatred, one instilled from an invisible enemy, leading to much frustration in the father. The ending was almost sublime in its pure emotion, the release experienced. Here, this enemy has gotten a face and a body, the hatred in the son isn't as credible(partially due to the son's occasional weakness, which stands in stark contrast to the strength of his convictions, both herein and in the original), and the ending is... just not anywhere near as strong as that of the book(it even messes up the original ending, by including the same scene, deprived of its powerful emotion, near the conclusion of the story here). Characters are added, some for little reason. Breaks of comedic relief are inserted, presumably to ease the heavy message, themes and story of the film. I suppose this could have been a good addition, but it just takes away from the serious nature of it. The plot is good, if some of the new material seems of little interest. The focus has shifted some; the film is entirely about Parvez, and how he relates to those around him. The pacing is decent enough, it doesn't drag too noticeably. The cinematography and editing is fine. It would be difficult to claim that it tries too hard, since it hardly tries at all. In spite of all the negatives, I'm glad to have seen this film, and I wish Kureishi more luck with feature films in the future... and I certainly will keep my eyes open for his other films. He's a quite gifted writer, I think the main problem here was that this story did not fit the medium and length of feature film. I recommend this to any fan of stories that deal with the cultures, in particular conflicts between them. 7/10