Honour

"Two people love each other, why can't people be happy for them? He's Punjabi, Mona. He's Muslim, Adel. Yeah, but that ain't how it works."

Occasionally you watch a movie with a rarely used (or abused) topic. No alien creatures threatening to destroy humanity, not another childish story about a post-apocalyptic world with a youngster as a liberator, not again cheap humor in a silly comedy with overstressed eager beaver, not an average action story with muscled guys or a horror with once again an evil spirit being driven out by using medieval rituals to the place where it came from. "Honour" is about honor killings.

Despite our modern society this ancient use is still applicable in some cultures. Especially in the Muslim communities they sometimes fall back on this custom. Mostly the targeted persons are those who ashamed their family and, believe it or not, these mad acts are justified by certain laws of Islam. In some countries the majority of perpetrators go unpunished like in Pakistan. It's a despicable thought that there are hundreds of women being killed each year because they have violated the family honor. And that's the starting point of this film.

"Honour" is a gray and depressing impression of the beautiful Mona (Aiysha Heart) whose life enters a gruesome cycle of violence after she began an affair with a Punjabi and therefore experiences the wrath of her primal conservative mother (Harvey Virdi). Mona's mother (the similarity with the nasty witch from Hansel and Gretel is striking) and brother Kasim (Faraz Ayub) first try to take the law into their own hands. This goes wrong (in an incomprehensible way) and they hire a bounty hunter (Paddy Considine) to liquidate Mona.

You can call the performances of the actress Aiysha Hart and the other actors commendable. Persuasive and dedicated. A cast that does its utmost to realize a credible and realistic story. Considine plays a sublime character role. You can see the duality in his character evolving. From a cold blooded, racist assassin into a true understanding person who apparently still has a bit of humanity inside him. Despite these superb performances, the film still fails on several points. Apparently Shan Khan couldn't really decide whether it should be a didactic documentary or a thriller. It's not a documentary because the background of the problem is pretty vaguely presented and there's hardly any explanation. For a thriller, there has been as much as no suspense. Also, the storyline was pretty confusing because of the constant use of time jumps and constantly viewing the same situation from a different viewpoint. The whole movie was like a Spaghetti Bolognaise: tasteful with a clew of story lines.

Despite being a low-budget film, "Honour" partly succeeded to convince. It throws some light on a mysterious and incomprehensible to our standards culture, where barbaric practices are still honored. All in all I thought it was a good movie and a must see, if only to conclude that unfortunately such practices are still part of our modern society. And despite the dark atmosphere, this film also shows a gentle side so there remains still a bit of hope. Technically, I thought the executed idea of the film being a loop, not unkind and creative.

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Honour deal with the subject of honour killings in sections of the Pakistani Muslim community although prevalent amongst Hindus and Sikhs.

Mona (Aiysha Hart) is a modern young woman who lives with her mother (Harvey Virdi) and two brothers Kasim (Faraz Ayub) who is a police officer and much younger Adel (Shubham Saraf). Her mother is strict and devout, I would probably add a hypocrite as well.

Mona is going out with another Pakistani Muslim Tanvir (Nikesh Patel). However this is not good enough for her family because he is Punjabi or something. So in effect he is Muslim, he is from Pakistan but the wrong region or caste so not good enough for the family and enough to bring shame to them. You see what I meant when I called her mother a hypocrite.

When the rest of the family hear about her plans to marry this they go off the rails. Kasim threatens Tanvir and frightens him off. For bringing shame to the family they attempt to kill her but she escapes and the family hire a bounty hunter (Paddy Considine)to find her. Considine is happy to take money from Asians although we note he is a racist.

Writer/director Shan Khan mixes the time line to heighten the suspense of what is a straightforward thriller. It works to an extent but too often the film becomes a hysterical melodrama with the focus on Karim the foul mouthed cop turned bad guy as he has been too brain washed by his repulsive mother.

There is a scene where his mother tells him that as a policeman, a pillar of the community, with his family's standing, he is an eligible catch and could marry a top Pakistani girl. His sister'r behaviour has put all this at risk.

At least the film highlights the sensitive issue of honour killings but it needs to have placed more explanation to the viewer as to why Tanvir was deemed to be unsuitable for Mona or else the viewer could be left confused.

The film is set in London but there is a glaring scene of a main road in the Isle of Man which I recognised as it was near where I used to live.

This is a tricky movie to review, it's a little all over the place at times and while occasionally it gets interesting it as often is rather boring.

And that has to do partly with the fact that pretty much everyone except for the victim are disgusting human beings and it focuses more on them than it does the only sympathetic character in the movie, and they aren't that fleshed out characters either to make up for it.

Paddy Considine is all over the poster but for the first hour he merely shows up here and there and it often made me wonder what his characters purpose even was, he ended up serving a purpose in the end though but yeah he's definitely not a lead character for the first hour that's for sure and clearly only on the poster to attract viewers.

I'm conflicted about the movie regarding it's subject, on one hand I do think that it's important to bring up cause honour killings do occur all over the world.

It's just the way it was dealt with that didn't sit right with me, cause they simplified it all and it almost felt like it was suggesting that any Muslim can turn into a vicious killer at any moment because of their pride, and other Muslims accept it which is an idea that the right-wing media is already trying to sell to the world causing racism and this movie will surely not help to prevent that from happening.

Not saying that you should hide away from subjects just for fear of such things but yeah it made it all seem so simple to what is a very complicated issue, it needed to be handled in a much more delicate manner, and perhaps it would have helped if there were any decent people in it beyond the victim to show that not everyone is like this.

"Honour killings are violent acts of vengeance, committed by male family members against female relatives ..." This is patently untrue. Honor killings do not discriminate by gender. Women simply get the publicity.

But it seems every writer must follow Feminist (gender Marxist) dogma and carry water for "the war on women" screed.

Again and again, bad male culture, poor 'heroic' women victims and the white knights that save them to prove how strong they are.

This inanity keeps cropping up again and again by a whole generation of writers brainwashed since childhood to despise the penis.

i can say nothing was hold back on this movie about the hate on both sides, film was dark, raw and gritty as it can get in Great Britain. i am guessing this film will upset a lot of people who are Muslim and i have to say i do not fallow any religion myself but saying that lots of Muslim's will come to realise the truth in the story which is happening all around us even today. i am from Turkey originally so bit more open minded about Women's choices but to east of Turkey mostly in Urfa honour killings are reality even to this date, lately a girl getting raped and killed by family member by drowning while she was 4 months pregnant. i am not an ostrich i will not put my head in sand and say this is not happening like most, Honour killing is not a religious but cultural upbringing it happens not just in Muslim cultures but seems more apparent due to how often it is happening. i have to say only way forward is educating people by saying taking life is wrong moral point and religious point and this job task is for making tougher laws by government and religious leaders speaking out to their community to change hearts. i believe the film was well acted but have to say it was rushed with bad cutting directing was OK i would have like to see the story being more longer more character development and more depth as it is i gave 8 should have been 6-7 but it is a brave, bold and raw take on this sensitive matter for that it deserves 8 and should be watched by every one over the age of 18 due to way more realistic Violence used in the film.