I don't feel like writing a long review on this one. I just want to say that, while not a great and classic film, this is a very good one that stands on the cusp of greatness. It is beautifully filmed and most importantly to me, it understands its characters and takes the time to explore the main ones in great detail. This a character study at its core, with a subplot about alienism within families and some of the many causes of it which include religion, age, culture, and the loss of intimacy for a spouse. I do not think, as others have said, that this is a movie about Islam or even religion at all. Although the participation (or not) in Islamic fundamentalism was a big issue for the family in the film, these same types of issues have erupted in families of all faiths since the dawn of religion and are in no way related solely to the Muslim faith. Certainly Islam is prominent in the film - but the film is not about the religion per se and does not go far in the direction of commenting on Islam. As a non-Muslim American, I did not get the sense from the movie that it was either promoting or condemning the Muslim faith, and I give great credit to the filmmakers for this. Islam is a hard subject to tackle and be able to get very far into while maintaining a middle ground, but that has been accomplished here and it does a great deal to elevate the film. Had I felt like I was being manipulated to feel one way or another about Islam, I would not have gotten nearly as much from the film as I did. But as it stands, I alternately felt respect for some of the Islamic men and their moral standards and commitment, and revulsion for some of their actions, such as the attack on the women's home (I realize why they did it, but that does not make it right). I felt that the movie gave me a chance to view Islam objectively without the need to question how I already felt; this gave me the ability to see all of the characters in the film as human beings instead of as representations of a religion. I wish that more films would take this tack - so many feel the need to steer the audience towards feeling one way or another about the always-volatile subject of religion.
OK that was bit longer than I intended. But what I really wanted to ask was why we can't make quality films like this in the USA? The reason that I pointed out that this was a very good film but not quite a great one was because I wanted to comment on how even a very good film made elsewhere is so much better than any so-called "great" film made in the USA. Why can't we count on seeing films that explore people, that don't have an agenda, and that are more than opportunities for product placement money and mass marketing of action figures and video games? Well, I do know the answer, at least I think that I do. The almighty dollar. But does Hollywod really think that people in America are so stupid that all they want to see is another movie with Adam Sandler being an untalented hack, or Wesley Snipes as another cop in a movie where everything blows up, or Tommy Lee Jones as some sort of government agent, or Jennifer Aniston being as dull as she is, or Ben Stiller being as dull as he is, or anything with Cameron Diaz or Jennifer Lopez or anybody named Affleck? And I haven't even delved into such atrocities as Rob Schneider or David Spade. Actually my biggest fear is that all of their mega zillion dollar research proves conclusively that Americans really ARE that stupid. Now there's a horror flick for you...
OK that was bit longer than I intended. But what I really wanted to ask was why we can't make quality films like this in the USA? The reason that I pointed out that this was a very good film but not quite a great one was because I wanted to comment on how even a very good film made elsewhere is so much better than any so-called "great" film made in the USA. Why can't we count on seeing films that explore people, that don't have an agenda, and that are more than opportunities for product placement money and mass marketing of action figures and video games? Well, I do know the answer, at least I think that I do. The almighty dollar. But does Hollywod really think that people in America are so stupid that all they want to see is another movie with Adam Sandler being an untalented hack, or Wesley Snipes as another cop in a movie where everything blows up, or Tommy Lee Jones as some sort of government agent, or Jennifer Aniston being as dull as she is, or Ben Stiller being as dull as he is, or anything with Cameron Diaz or Jennifer Lopez or anybody named Affleck? And I haven't even delved into such atrocities as Rob Schneider or David Spade. Actually my biggest fear is that all of their mega zillion dollar research proves conclusively that Americans really ARE that stupid. Now there's a horror flick for you...