Young Ahmed Reviews

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by the Dardenne Brothers, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it was probably one of the strongest stories they came up with in a very long time. Unfortunately, even though the brothers usually have a steady hand, in this case, it felt rather disjointed, I’m afraid, and, right from the disorienting first scene, you might wonder if their approach was really the best way to handle this material. Indeed, even though the main character was quite fascinating, the lack of background around him was rather frustrating. The fact that the only Muslim adult he ever spoke to was this radical imam was also rather bewildering. Eventually, you might wonder why this young teenager would believe every single word this man would tell him and would doubt what everybody else would say. Of course, that’s how religious fundamentalism works but you never get a glimpse on how this poor guy actually got sucked into this. It was also intriguing how much effort the Belgian authorities seemed to take for such a troubled young man (apparently, they give a specific case worker for each of them which actually sounds too good to be true) but this aspect was also barely developed after all. Eventually, as far as I was concerned, the most surprising and interesting aspect of this movie was the blossoming relationship between Ahmed and Louise. Unfortunately, it came really late so it didn’t get much attention but I think it could or should have been the main focus in this movie. Anyway, to conclude, even if I have to admit that it was a minor effort from the Belgian masters, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Dardenne Brothers’s work.