49/12
I saw it at the 2023 Ghant Film Festival (Belgium)
Brussels teacher Amal encourages her students to read and speak freely, despite the dangers. Her courageous approach leaves a mark on students and families. To start with, I have to admit that for at least the first half of the run I started on the wrong foot. I felt a bit disconnected from the story: is there something they want to tell us? It is indeed very regrettable that religious fanaticism and fundamentalism have such an overwhelming influence on many people that they go to great lengths to threaten or even eliminate those who do not believe.
tolerant of other beliefs
My initial problem with the story presented was that I wrongly assumed that the filmmakers were trying to inform us that there are people who put the Koran and Sharia above the laws of the land and thus ignore what we consider normal (we call it “civilized”). I am now corrected, knowing that they did not preach. What is more, now positive. I was captivated first and foremost by the believable cast, as well as the believable circumstances of the school, where much of the story takes place. The same goes for the parents and the neighborhood, which could be in any large city in any country.
Thirdly, we also witness the strong influence of social media
For me, the development of events gained real traction thanks to the unexpected twists of events that kept the story alive and interested in the course of events. Secondly, I was also drawn into the growing dilemmas of the teachers and the school principal, which became more complicated with each meeting. The basic questions become obvious and push the story forward, even without an obvious way out. These meetings drew me deeply into what happened, and showed us how difficult it is to decide on a balanced approach to the issues raised in the program. It is not only the immediate threats that matter here.
All of this adds up to an unlimited media storm
Besides, everyone talks about you without knowing the real facts, yet creating opinions that spread like wildfire. It is easy to like a post, even if you do not completely agree with it, it can be done quickly, without thinking. What’s more, it’s also very easy to write a negative comment, which adds to the anonymity that comes with unverified accounts. Before the internet, we had the churchyard, the butcher shop, and the pub where we could exchange gossip. No, we have a much faster way, with greater reach and speed.
That leaves no resolution, but is there one?
There’s no happy ending though, probably Mission Impossible given the circumstances. In the end, this isn’t a documentary about fundamentalists becoming a bigger problem, as I’m sure the filmmakers know we already knew. This is a real-world story, set in and around a real school, with real teachers and real students with families at home. We see believable characters in their roles, even the unsympathetic ones.