- TITLE: My Brother The Devil DIRECTOR: Sally El Hosaini CAST: James Floyd, Fady Elsayed, Said Taghmaoui RELEASE YEAR: 2012 COUNTRY: United Kingdom
Never since Trainspotting have I seen a more intrusive and meticulous depiction of Britain’s marginalized urban youth culture as seen in Director Sally El Hosaini’s film, My Brother the Devil (2012). A tale of two brothers from an immigrant family, Rashid and his younger brother Mo, sway on the pendulum of the cause-and-effect realities of London city’s council estates (low income housing). Through tragedy, Rashid, portrayed by newcomer James Floyd, grants the viewer the use of his characterized nuances to unfold the redemptive qualities needed to balance a film which is quite gritty in its honest and spontaneous plot.
It’s a much needed and well-timed story that encompasses the interactions between family, friends, love, drugs, sexuality and crime that’s brilliantly scripted by El Hosaini. Younger brother Mo, played by Fady Elsayed, delivers the talent of a true bravado as he maneuvers the negative trappings of inner city life with a well blended, forthcoming and racially mixed group of actors.
A unique angle to the film is that it delves into the experience of an Arab family of Egyptian heritage, which is more reminiscent of French cinema as opposed to British films which usually follow immigrant characters of South Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent.
My Brother the Devil takes a segment of London and puts it to film in a way that is pure truth, suspense and stand and deliver cinema. -#Cine’PicksTME
2. TITLE: Mother of George DIRECTOR: Andrew Dosunmu CAST: Isaach de Bankole, Danai Guria, Bukky Ajaye RELEASE YEAR: 2013 COUNTRY: Nigeria/USA
Director Andrew Dosunmu transfers Nigerian ideology to the heart of Brooklyn where the boundaries of kinship are put to the test in this grand achievement in cinematography, Mother of George (2013).
Within the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria, when a wife marries her husband, she becomes the wife of the entire family. This is the story of Adenike, portrayed by Danai Gurira, whose marital bliss is infringed upon by the mother of her husband, George, as they try to conceive a child. The construct of the film reflects the cultural meaning and expectations of manhood set against the dictates of what is expected of a woman and wife of the family.
In respect to the love she has for her husband and an impeding mother-in-law , Adenike is coerced into making an unthinkable decision with the hope of keeping all intact, which in turn poses a moral dilemma for all involved.
Mother of George is a great film for avid film buffs wishing to escape the confines of Hollywood for ventures that are more independent, foreign, unique and unseen.
Great cinematography, an identifiable human story and perfect acting drives the pace of this film and churns it into a work of beauty and art. – #Cine’PicksTME
3. TITLE: The Iran Job. DIRECTOR: Till Schaude. CAST: Kevin Sheppard and The People of Iran RELEASE YEAR: 2012 COUNTRY: USA/Iran
Filmmakers Till Schauder and Sara Nodjoumi rivets the audience by combining America’s most loved and familiar, basketball, with its most unfamiliar and unloved, Iran.
The Iran Job (2012) grants its viewers a voyeuristic insight into the lives of Iranians beyond the news headlines through Kevin Sheppard, a notable African-American basketball player signed to a basketball team in Iran as player and motivator. #Cine’PicksTME
0 Comments