Saw this at the 2023 filmfestival in Ghant (Belgium). To begin, I must admit starting on the wrong foot for at least the first half of the running time. I felt a bit disconnected with the story: is there something they want to tell us?? It is very regrettable indeed that religious fanatism and fundamentalism has an overwhelming influence on many people, so much that they go at every length to threaten or even eliminate those who do not believe. My initial problem with the story at hand was that I assumed wrongly that the filmmakers tried to inform us that people exist who put Quran and Sharia above national laws, and thus ignore what we deem normal (we call it "civilized") to be tolerant against other beliefs. I stand corrected now, knowing that they were not preaching.
Further, now on a positive note. What took me on, firstly, was the believable cast and evenso believable circumstances within the school, wherein a considerable part of the story takes place. Ditto for the parents and the neighborhood, which can be situated in any large city in any country. For me, the developments got real traction due to some unexpected turns of events that kept the story afloat and myself interested in the proceedings.
Secondly, what also took me on were the growing dilemmas for teachers and school director, becoming more complicated in each subsequent meeting. Fundamental questions are becoming manifest and move the story forward, alas without an obvious way out. Those meetings involved me deeply in what happened, also showing us how difficult it is to decide about a balanced approach to the issues on the agenda.
Thirdly, we also witness the strong influence of social media. Not only direct threats matter here. Also that everyone is talking about you, without knowing the real facts but still forming opinions that spread like wildfire. It is easy to Like a posting, even when not fully agreeing with it, can be done quickly without a second thought. Moreover, writing a negative text is also very easy, amplified by the anonymity that goes with unverified accounts. It all adds up to an unmitigated media storm. Before Internet we had the church yard, the butcher store and the pub to exchange gossip, no we have a much faster means with larger coverage and speed.
There is no happy ending, however, assumably a Mission Impossible given the circumstances. It leaves us with no solution, but is there any??
All in all, not a documentary to demonstrate that fundamentalists become more and more a problem, as now I'm sure the filmmakers know we knew already. It is a real-world story in and around a real-world school, genuine teachers, and genuine pupils with families at home that are also involved. We see believable characters in their respective roles, even the unsympathetic roles.
