The Reluctant Fundamentalist

This is a reply to Mr. Doc Smith, United States... Mr. Smith, I WOULD REQUEST YOU TO PLEASE CHECK YOUR STATISTICS. USA in 2010 had a total of 84767 cases(Highest in world) while India had 21397 cases of crime against women. Also, rate per 100000 population in USA is 27.3 while that in India is 1.8. Also, we are trying a lot to reduce this number. Besides, there are a lot of movies against corruption like Raajneeti. Gang wars: Once Upon a time in Mumbai (1 and 2), GOW (1 ,2) etc. Female foeticide: Matrubhoomi.

Four years after I read the impressive novel by Mohsin Hamid, I went to see the film which is based on the book. I wondered how a novel, which is essentially one long monologue by an educated Pakistani called Changez Khan with no other voices whatsoever, would be turned into a big screen offering but reckoned that, if they could do it for such complex works as "Life Of Pi" and "Cloud Atlas", it could work for Hamid's subtle narrative. So it proved. The 'conversation' in Lahore has been effectively opened out with shooting not just in Pakistan and India but the United States and Turkey, while very effective use is made of music, starting with a dramatic opening scene. The essential clash of cultures, via a confrontation between the reluctant fundamentalist (played by Riz Admed) and the ambiguous American Bobby (Liev Schreiber), is retained, but the film is less opaque than the book, with it being (eventually) much clearer where the two main protagonists stand in the 'war on terror'. Although the political messages are signposted more simplistically in the film than in the novel, this is still a work that challenges preconceptions about the capitalist West and the religious East and ultimately about ends versus means and good versus evil. Considerable credit should go to Indian director Mira Nair ("Monsoon Wedding" - another culture-conflict movie) and, as well as the excellent main roles, there is strong support in minor roles filled by Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson. Although the turning point for Changez is the attack on the Twin Towers, subsequent events in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere have only served to underline the need for a better understanding of what motivates fundamentalism and how best it should be opposed. So do see "Zero Dark Thirty" (which I thought was excellent), but also take the trouble to find the much less high profile film "The Reluctant Fundamentalist". At one point in the movie, Changez is asked by an American official: "How do you feel about the United States of America?" It is not a simple question. This film does not offer a simple answer.

Propagandist garbage. What a colossal bore. By the way, who said that Wall Street is the American dream? Did this brainy immigrant ever visit Iowa and ask them what their American dream is? Perhaps owning a farm and loving Jesus is it. He already admitted that he understands what makes America great. He said it in his interview. I'll give credit to the writers or filmmakers for that. He explains that America will give a talented guy like him an equal opportunity to succeed. Which it did. But the rest of the film is about denigrating capitalism, and championing Third World pride. OK. Some Americans mistook him for a terrorist. That's unfortunate, but not worth giving up his American dream. The pacing was ridiculously slow. The manipulative sympathy-pandering was insulting. Who asked this guy to come to America, and who told his country to be a Third World embarrassment? It is what it is. I'm so sick of self-righteous movie propaganda. Talk about stacking the deck. Of all the American girlfriends to get, he finds one who bases an entire photography gallery exhibit on his ethnic identity, and treats it like a cartoon. What are the odd of that? But it certainly fits into the intention of demonizing Americans. The lead foreign guy was good. His demeanor and facial expressions seemed to convey true soul and feeling. You felt his pain and confusion. Why use Liev Schreiber? A Jewish guy in Pakistan? Of all the actors. The opening was good. I didn't know what exactly was going on, but the music was great. It shows a traditional Pakistani party setting, with emotional crooner music highlighted. You will appreciate Kate Hudson as a slightly beefy, serious underdog. I've never seen her in anything other than romantic comedies. The Kiefer Sutherland character is portrayed as some kind of capitalist demon. Some credit is due to the makers for having his character tell about his upbringing and longing for financial stability. The bottom line is that this film slams you over the head with a socio-cultural, political point of view. Americans are ignorant of the beautiful nuances of Third World culture. Brown skin and primitive beliefs are ultimately cooler than modern Western culture. Americans think everyone from a Muslim country takes his commands from the Koran. Avoid this pathetic snooze-fest, or steer your friends away.

Off late, it seems that there's a new genre of films, both in India and in the West. As varied as they may be in their narratives, they share certain broad elements-a Muslim immigrant to the West facing the hostility and suspicion of a post-9/11 world and gradually becoming disillusioned with the once sought-after Western way of life and seeking solace in his/her own roots. 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' is the latest addition to that particular genre and yet, unlike many of the others, it doesn't have a lot to do with terrorism. Sure, terrorism and its consequences do drive the plot to a significant extent; but above all, this is a very human story about identity, self-doubt, and internal conflict. The protagonist Changez Khan is a man living in two worlds, and throughout the story, he is never really able to pick a side, despite his assertion that his side has picked for him. In that regard, he is perhaps the most realistic reflection of a modern Muslim youth placed in a similar situation. Without spoiling anything much, I will say that this isn't your sundry story about young people feeling victimized and turning to radicalism-this is something far more complex...something you need to see the whole movie to truly appreciate. Riz Ahmed does a great job portraying the multi-faceted and conflicted protagonist Changez, and Liev Schreiber is brilliant as Bobby Lincoln, the enigmatic American whose conversation with Changez forms the backbone of the narrative. Less impressive is Kate Hudson as Changez's American lover Erika.

I went into the theatre not expecting it to be spectacular but I was wrong. Everything from the acting to the music composition and the dialogue was amazing. Riz Ahmed's performance was terrific. This film sheds light on America's deadly interventions in response to 9/11. A young Pakistani Muslim goes to America, gets an education and becomes successful. When 9/11 occurs, that young man's life is challenged because he is harassed by police and at the same time feeling the pain of his people. But does he become a fundamentalist and goes on a murderous spree on the invaders? Absolutely not. He remains peaceful. The reason is that there is no such thing as fundamentalism in Islam. A person who watches this film will see how peaceful Islam really is. Now that I've seen this film, I will definitely read the book.

source: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

This movie was made with a good script, remarkable actors and fine filming. However, all that talent was wasted on promoting false ideas. The hero of the film is Changez, a gifted young Pakistani who got upset with the treatment he received in America after 9/11. That was the main factor that pushed him back to Pakistan where he becomes a reluctant fundamentalist. The movie promotes the popular idea that Americans, by the way they treat Muslims, make them enemies of our state. There are many ethnic groups in America that at some time became very upset. During WWII thousands of American Japanese were rounded up and placed in internment camps. None of them became a terrorist. Chinese, Irish,Italian,Polish, Russian Jewish immigrants were very upset with the treatment they got during their first years in America. Indians and blacks were justifiably very upset. Did they become terrorists? The fact is that displeasure with the treatment Muslims get in America is not what drives some of them to fundamentalism. They become fundamentalists because of their religious beliefs. The other false idea promoted by that movie is anti-corporate resentment. The film shows corporate greed, heartlessness and indifference to human plight that Changez eventually rejects. At one point he has to lay off a third of the workforce in a Philippine factory. The creators of the movie apparently condemn that cruel corporative practice. However, they forget that the same corporation continues to employ the remaining 2/3 of the workers and allows them to feed their families. Changez's job was to improve the effectiveness of corporations his firm tested. During the movie he uses a cell phone, a device that was invented, developed and manufactured by a corporation. Without the effectiveness of that corporation, blamed in the movie for greed, Changez probably would've used a phone booth, and not 1/3 but the entire 100% of the phone manufacturing workers would not have a job. Probably that's the ideal world of creators of that movie: everybody is unemployed, poor and happy. Money is not all, they say!

"After 9/11 you could choose your side. I had my side chosen for me." Changez (Ahmed) is a Pakistani man who takes a job on Wall Street. He becomes stuck in a position that no one wants. Not only dealing with a hostage crisis but he has to decide between his American dream and his homeland. This is a movie that sounded very interesting to me and I sat down hoping for something completely different. While the movie has good acting and an intriguing idea it was just soooooo slow moving and boring that I found myself losing interest and focus throughout and I missed some of what was going on due to boredom. There really isn't much more to say about this. You may have a different take on this but I got bored and found myself not really caring about what happens and more how much longer till its over. Overall, a neat idea but too slow to get into. I give it a C-.

Mira Nair's gift for storytelling is not often evident in this strident, one-dimensional film that manages to turn the complex emotions that surround 9/11 into a dull, clichéd story of how racism in America could cause more global horror. Some good acting can't rescue a fairly trite script that sounds like highlights of the much better novel that it was based on. Nair's Monsoon Wedding was about real people, and it remains one of the greatest films of the past 30 years. Even her Vanity Fair was more emotionally connected than this. Save yourself the 2:10 running length and pick up the book.