O Relutante Fundamentalista

Whilst it is tempting to dismiss this as just another 9/11 related tale, it goes a little deeper than one might think.

A young Pakistani whose upward path to wealth in the finance industry in New York is interrupted by the atrocities of September 11, 2001 who then becomes the Asian looking man with a beard, the centre of everyone's suspicions. The country he had come to grow so fond of, suddenly puts him in a dark corner, which raises some uneasy questions; is hatred the response to hatred, or extremism the cure to extremism? A single event, with a chain of events that followed caused him to question everything.

This is a story about two extremes. On the one hand is the religious fundamentalism which drives people to kill for the sake of dogma and blind obedience to a book whilst on the other hand lies the financial fundamentalism which drives people to gamble the livelihoods of others for the sake of individual profit maximisation and wealth accumulation. The former type of extremism is well noted and condemned, whilst the latter is noted but not so openly condemned although it is possible that it is causing more damage than religious fundamentalism. Regardless where one stands on such issues this film puts a young man in the middle of two extremes.

Changez is a conflicted soul and whilst he starts out as a financial fundamentalist, should he not swap one extreme for another? Can he realise that fanaticism is harmful no matter whichever root it has?

An interesting, and very relevant film.

The aftermath of 9/11 is an ongoing process: For Americans, the hardening of the heart and the strengthening of its defenses is a given; for a Pakistani like Changez (Riz Ahmed) his love of America is challenged in his professional and personal life. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, adapted from the Moshin Hamid novel, is a cultural deconstruction of values, beliefs, and patriotism framed in a formulaic thriller.

The character arc for Changez extends relentlessly throughout the film. Changez's "change" is the heart of the film, and director Mira Nair doesn't disappoint as she exposes the fraying nerves underlying both commerce and politics in these volatile times.

Nair is weak only in having a thesis to prove, most notably that when family, profession, and nationalism collide in parlous times, few will emerge unscathed but all will fiercely protect their own values. For instance, while Changez, the son of a Pakistani poet, achieves the American Dream as a business analyst for a prominent financial advisory company, aka corporate morticians (see Romney's Bain), that success wears on this young man with a fundamental belief in fairness. As a professor, he teaches "the importance of fundamentals." The abduction of a fellow academic seriously challenges his allegiances.

Nair, maybe too obviously, parallels the corporate turmoil with his love of SoHo artist Erica (Kate Hudson) and his love of his country. Add those competing life elements to aggressive American security (Changez's encounter with the TSA should chill any of us who travel and wonder what it would be like to be targeted), and you have a young man changing by the minute.

If for nothing else, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a story about fundamental beliefs, none more glaringly different than the West and Islam. The action, framed by a story of journalist Bobby Lincoln (Liev Schreiber) interviewing Changez about the hostage situation, becomes multileveled and allegorical, ending in more of a thriller with a banal surprise than a thoughtful treatise on the complicated nature of modern foreign affairs.

As we did for Argo, forget the hokey ending and enjoy the clash of cultures. It's worth the trip.

What a shame, though how predictable, that the multiplexes chose not to show Mira Nair's brave and provocative political thriller about the intricacies of fighting extremist Islam.

Nair uses Mohsin Hamid's fictional novel to explore very real Western attitudes towards the East in the ongoing 'war on terror'. She has directed a film of huge cultural, political and moral significance at a critical juncture between the Muslim and non-Muslim world.

Rising star Riz Ahmed (Four Lions) gives a memorable lead performance as Changez, a Pakistani immigrant in New York, who has an identity crisis in the wake of 9/11. He returns to live in Lahore when an MIT professor has been captured and held ransom there by terrorists, who use him as leverage to make demands of the US.

Posing as a journalist, Secret Service Agent Bobby Lincoln (Liev Schreiber) visits Lahore to interview Changez, who has developed a reputation for being anti-American. The US authorities believe that Changez, if not a terrorist, at least knows something about the kidnapping. They exert pressure on him by harassing his family, a move which only deepens his hatred.

During their interview, Changez asks Bobby to make a judgement about him only after hearing his entire story, and Changez's reminiscence allows for the film to unfurl as a flashback of epic proportions.

Raised in a secular, literate Muslim household in Pakistan, Changez finds it easy to break the covenants of his religion. He consumes alcohol, eats pork and sleeps with non-Muslims, everything Islam forbids. He wins a scholarship to study at Princeton in the late 90s, where he claims never to have scored a B.

There he is headhunted to work for a prestigious valuation firm where he ensures a rapid promotion by impressing his boss (Kiefer Sutherland). On the day of his promotion the towers come down. He tells Bobby that instead of feeling sadness, he felt awe. 'David had struck Goliath'.

Ahmed gave his most famous performance in Lions, but this is his greatest. As an 'Asian' (I abhor the term but include it for your convenience) man myself, I have long had to suffer stereotypical performances by brown-skinned actors, who are used by ignorant directors to add colour and Schadenfreude to their ignorant stories. Ahmed transcends all that. This time we're analysing the reactions of White actors.

Changez's hatred of America germinates slowly, against his will, as his life slowly falls apart. Colleagues turn on him. The bond he had with his widowed girlfriend Erica (Kate Hudson) withers. Ordinary citizens view him as the enemy. His choice to move back to Pakistan is made for him.

Nair purposely shows much of Changez's life back home, as one of her clear aims is to challenge some key stereotypes. Changez's father (Om Puri) is a distinguished poet, not a farmer or rickshaw puller. The family is quite well off, not destitute. And the country is generally shown to be colourful, vibrant and civilised, instead of corrupt, backward and dangerous, as we normally see.

The horror of the recent Woolwich (London) terrorist attack may do something to restrict the impact of this excellent film. Paradoxically, the attack serves to reinforce the arguments of the film. It makes several points, makes them powerfully and forces you to in future question what you are told.

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.

As soon as I saw the early credits running right to left I was grabbed by the intelligent Mira Nair, then the rousing singers, sumptuous visuals, disparate actors woven together in this complex, compelling story... wow. The Reluctant Fundamentalist is why I love cinema. This movies imperfections are perfection.

I read Mohsin Hamids exquisite book prior to viewing this fine movie and I almost side- stepped this movie because I didn't feel Hamids books subtle yet intense conversation would be translated onto the big screen. How wrong I was - thank you Mira Nair and all those involved.

I walked out of this movie and clicked my heels - the sun was shining and the world was travelling just fine in far more places than most realise.