Four Lions
Cinema Nova, 13/08/2010
Status: Behind by 9 films (back down in the single figures!)
I found Four Lions, the story of five bumbling would-be jihadists, to be an uncomfortable film. But I couldn’t really say why. It might have been the subject material (a comedy about jihad, how taboo!) or the fact that it was a funny and a sad story all at once, or simply that being uncomfortable was exactly what director CHRIS MORRIS’ intended (the Brits are so good at making you laugh and squirm at once, are they not?)
Although the moral and philosophical questions in the film are murky, the characters are not. Right from the start it’s clear where our sympathies should be and it works, to a certain point. KYVAN NOVAC and RIZ AHMED do very well as the central characters of the terrorist cell, and the support cast offer some good comedy, but not much by way of anything more emotional.
I really struggled with some parts of the film - like how on earth this terrorist cell came together and why it continues on - but I was also caught up in the comedy (I do love the British dead pan).
Uncomfortable, thought provoking and funny. But probably not as uncomfortable, thought provoking or funny as it could have been. But certainly more uncomfortable, thought provoking and funny that if it had been made by Americans.
