Shams Al-Ma'arif

The Book of Sun is both a high school coming-of-age comedy and a film about guerrilla filmmaking, and it nails it in both areas. The story is very entertaining from start to finish and invokes an atmosphere I have enjoyed in films like Bowfinger and The Disaster Artist without actually being anything like either films. Here is a film that was truly made for the local sensibility and very true to that, yet I believe would be a smashing success has it been given the chance to play internationally. The filmmaking is very well done, and the camera shots are smart and dynamic without being flashy. The filmmakers smartly imploys music, animations, outdoors shoots, and camera flourishes in service of telling a really good story. Set in 2010, it would have been a tall order recreating that time and place in a country with little infrastructure and expertise to pull that off, but the filmmakers managed to do that on a budget that must have been modest, and used the limitations to double down on the DIY atmosphere of a high school kids with talent and passion trying to make a movie in an atmosphere that was anything but supportive. There is a high level of situational comedy, and the cast who consists of mainly unprofessional and unseasoned young actors really delovered on the jokes. Baraa Alem, playing Hosam the aspiring filmmaker, is very good in delivering a wide range of emotions between the drama and the comdey. He is the straight man in this mayhem. The stakes are high for him, because his future is on the line, and the pressure is high on him to succeed in school to become what his family and society deem a successful man, even if it means abandoning his passion for filmmaking which he is clearly good at. The supporting team lead by Sohayb Godus, Ahmad Sadam, and especially Ismail Alhassan truly deliver on the comedy in a big. If Baraa Alem's Hosam is the brain here, Ismail Alhassan's Ma'an his best friend is the beating heart of the gang. There are many funny gags that I believe should not be spoiled, and I feel they are ripe for repeat viewing. Not only the film is great, even the film within a film is the kind of shlock horror films I would totally watch and enjoy. This is in no way a perfect movie. If I have to say where it could have been improved, I would say the plot is predictable and the film would have been better off cut to 100 to 105 min instead of 2 hours. That said, it still is a very impressive effort considering it's the debut feature film of Godus Brothers. It is one of the rare times that I don't have to qualify my enjoyment by saying it's a good enough for a Saudi film, and instead I think it's a film that could stand on its own merits and represent us everywhere and not be graded on a curve, which might be the highest praise I can grant the film.

It's fun, light and simple but very entertaining with incredible performances by it's three leading actors. Some breathtaking visuals with wonderful writing and directing. the dialogue is quick-witted and charming. Loved the childish & mature humor and the many Saudi-pop-culture references. If you grow up in Jeddah and went to a public school, the school scenes will feel very nostalgic and relatable. All and all well done.

It was my first Saudi movie that I watched and I couldn't be more happy, fulfilled, relevant ever in a movie such as this one. The directing and acting efforts were so good it left amazed honestly with a great story and well rounded characters that I've felt so relevant to, in all, I couldn't be more proud about a Saudi production, especially in the most heart warming aspect of entertainment, cinema. Well done boys.

Loved the movie, the whole movie was so reflective of our society and of the things that touched and affected us in our most sensitive youth. The characters were so vibrant and vivid, the storyline had the perfect ups and downs that colors any great movie. The comedy was brilliant. The directing was innvoative and aesthetically beautiful. Loved everything about it and hopes it is a firestarter for a promising Saudi cinema.

The idea of a Saudi citizen wanting to be a film director might be a little bit derivative but the movie improves by the timeline and exceeds my expectations by being unpredictable and funny. Sure, it might have its corny moments but the acting and the production is better than any Saudi film i've ever seen.