London Indian Film Festival 2012 Review: RUNWAY
Ruhul is a young adult living with his mother and sister in Bangladesh in a meager home beneath an airport runway. His mother provides for the family by selling milk from the family cow, bought using a micro-loan, and his sister pitches in with her job at a local textiles factory. Ruhul has no job. It's not that he hasn't tried, it's just that he's been unable to land a successful interview, and with his father off in the Middle East trying to earn some money for savings, Ruhul is the man of the house. After the pile of rejections grows beyond his ability to cope, Ruhul one day just gives up, it is on this day that his visit to a local Internet cafe changes his life.
It is on this day that Ruhul meets Arif, a young Muslim man who seems both unusually devout and well put together. Ruhul sees something worth looking up to in Arif, though little does he know that he is about to cross the line from aimless to misguided in one crucial misstep. The rest of the story deals with Arif's militant Islamist leanings and how he's able to convince an otherwise relatively laid back Ruhul, that being a martyr for Allah will bring some meaning to his life. Will he succumb? Only time will tell.
Runway is the first Bangladeshi film I've ever reviewed, and it is, in fact, the first Bangladeshi film that I've ever seen in its entirety. Most people have zero experience with Banglar films, and if they do, it is from the more meme worthy entries like Banglar King Kong or any number of crazy, poorly edited, ridiculous looking movie trailers that you can find on Youtube. Runway is a million miles away from these crappy looking films, it is a well put together insightful look into the politics of poverty, and how religion can be used to pervert even the best of people in the worst of conditions. There is nothing inherently evil about Ruhul, however, with little to look forward to, frustration and the promise of some accomplishment can be very tempting.
Bangladesh is among the most densely populated nations in the world, with nearly 2,500 residents per square mile. That's almost 150 million people in an area about the size of Iowa. Think about that, all of the problems of any nation compressed into such a small area makes for a tinder box waiting for a spark, and Arif is determined to be that spark.
Ruhul is confused, emasculated, and desperate. In a majority Muslim area, his household's breadwinners are the women. However, the cleric who is talking all of these poor Muslims into attending radical madrasas insists that it is a sin for women to work, speak out of turn, or even leave the home. He blames the country's ills on the mass rejection of what he sees as Islam's core and fundamental values. Every megalomaniac requires a target for hate and blame, and in this case, Ruhul must make the choice to either respect his mother and sister who love him so much, or to reject their love and attempt to buy himself glory in martyrdom. The choice is not as easy as it seems.
Fazlul Haque, who plays Ruhul, turns in a magnificently understated performance as the man-child who is learning to trust his own instincts. The character of Ruhul undergoes a wide variety of changes, yet he still manages to hold on to that innocence that may ultimately be his saving grace. In all of Arif's (Ali Ahsan) attempts to corrupt him, Ruhul remains reticent, even as he prepares for war, he hopes for peace. The other remarkable performance in the film comes from Rabeya Akter Moni as Ruhul's doting mother, Rahima. Her inimitable grace and power as a woman of substance is Ruhul's best chance for redemption, and she plays her role with that fierce calm that only a mother exudes.
If this is what Bangladeshi independent film has been hiding, it's time for them to come out into the light. Runway is a remarkably powerful piece of filmmaking, with strong performances, gorgeous cinematography, and supremely confident direction from the late Tareque Musud, who had a long career leading up to Runway, on which I am now eager to catch up. Runway is one of the rare films about terrorism and radicalism in Islam that challenges the viewer to look at both sides and understand. It neither deifies nor demonizes the human beings caught in this space between peace and devotion, yet it makes the right decisions at the right times. I loved this film, and it has so far been the surprise of the London Indian Film Festival and I urge locals to seek it out!
It is on this day that Ruhul meets Arif, a young Muslim man who seems both unusually devout and well put together. Ruhul sees something worth looking up to in Arif, though little does he know that he is about to cross the line from aimless to misguided in one crucial misstep. The rest of the story deals with Arif's militant Islamist leanings and how he's able to convince an otherwise relatively laid back Ruhul, that being a martyr for Allah will bring some meaning to his life. Will he succumb? Only time will tell.
Runway is the first Bangladeshi film I've ever reviewed, and it is, in fact, the first Bangladeshi film that I've ever seen in its entirety. Most people have zero experience with Banglar films, and if they do, it is from the more meme worthy entries like Banglar King Kong or any number of crazy, poorly edited, ridiculous looking movie trailers that you can find on Youtube. Runway is a million miles away from these crappy looking films, it is a well put together insightful look into the politics of poverty, and how religion can be used to pervert even the best of people in the worst of conditions. There is nothing inherently evil about Ruhul, however, with little to look forward to, frustration and the promise of some accomplishment can be very tempting.
Bangladesh is among the most densely populated nations in the world, with nearly 2,500 residents per square mile. That's almost 150 million people in an area about the size of Iowa. Think about that, all of the problems of any nation compressed into such a small area makes for a tinder box waiting for a spark, and Arif is determined to be that spark.
Ruhul is confused, emasculated, and desperate. In a majority Muslim area, his household's breadwinners are the women. However, the cleric who is talking all of these poor Muslims into attending radical madrasas insists that it is a sin for women to work, speak out of turn, or even leave the home. He blames the country's ills on the mass rejection of what he sees as Islam's core and fundamental values. Every megalomaniac requires a target for hate and blame, and in this case, Ruhul must make the choice to either respect his mother and sister who love him so much, or to reject their love and attempt to buy himself glory in martyrdom. The choice is not as easy as it seems.
Fazlul Haque, who plays Ruhul, turns in a magnificently understated performance as the man-child who is learning to trust his own instincts. The character of Ruhul undergoes a wide variety of changes, yet he still manages to hold on to that innocence that may ultimately be his saving grace. In all of Arif's (Ali Ahsan) attempts to corrupt him, Ruhul remains reticent, even as he prepares for war, he hopes for peace. The other remarkable performance in the film comes from Rabeya Akter Moni as Ruhul's doting mother, Rahima. Her inimitable grace and power as a woman of substance is Ruhul's best chance for redemption, and she plays her role with that fierce calm that only a mother exudes.
If this is what Bangladeshi independent film has been hiding, it's time for them to come out into the light. Runway is a remarkably powerful piece of filmmaking, with strong performances, gorgeous cinematography, and supremely confident direction from the late Tareque Musud, who had a long career leading up to Runway, on which I am now eager to catch up. Runway is one of the rare films about terrorism and radicalism in Islam that challenges the viewer to look at both sides and understand. It neither deifies nor demonizes the human beings caught in this space between peace and devotion, yet it makes the right decisions at the right times. I loved this film, and it has so far been the surprise of the London Indian Film Festival and I urge locals to seek it out!
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