Before I get into my review, I credit director/co-writer Claudio Giovannesi with making a film that probably couldn’t be made in the United States at this moment because of public worry about religious sensitivity. Ali Blue Eyes (Ali ha gli occhi azzurri) is about the life of a teenage Italian Muslim who rejects most of his religion’s traditional beliefs in order to live a more “Western” life. While here in the United States I’ve seen plenty of films in which Christians, Jews, and people of other religious beliefs have rejected more traditional views to embrace other cultures (heck, look at all the attention Mormons and the Amish have gotten in this regard recently!), I haven’t seen any American directors tackle the same with traditional Muslims (though filmmakers from Islamic countries have far outpaced their American counterparts with making films based on this theme).
The “Ali Blue Eyes” of the title is Nader (Nader Sarhan), a sixteen year-old Italian Muslim who has an Italian girlfriend, Brigitte (Brigitte Apruzzesi). Nader is a small-time hoodlum who lives a life of committing petty crimes (although during the film he commits one crime that crosses that “petty” line) and mostly disregards the strict rules of his religion. Nader’s parents (Cesare Hosny Sarhan and Fatima Mouhaseb) do not accept the relationship on religious grounds much to Nader’s chagrin, and one night when Nader stays out passed his curfew with Brigitte and her family his mother locks him out to teach him a lesson. Nader uses this opportunity to run away, though like most sixteen year-old runaways he’s without a plan beyond his stubborn “I won’t go back home.” Ali Blue Eyes covers a week in Nader’s life as he tries to reconcile his family’s traditional values with his personal desires, with the latter often winning out. While struggling with the rules of his religion he also struggles with his relationships with his close friends, including Stefano (Stefano Rabatti) and Mahmoud (Salah Ramadan), and his vastly more traditional views about how his younger sister, Laura (Yamina Kacemi) should be treated.
Though Nader has only dated Brigitte for a month when the movie begins, it’s obvious that this confrontation with his family has been a long time coming. First, Nader wears blue contacts in his eyes (giving the film its title), an obvious attempt to distance himself from his culture. Second, there are few other Muslims in the film, which casts Nader and his family as “others” that have difficulty fitting in with Italian culture. What also helps with this is that the film is set during Christmastime. Obviously the cold weather has an effect on Nader being homeless, but the fact that he is surrounded with Christmas imagery also highlights his “outsider” nature.
I found myself drawn to Ali Blue Eyes in a number of ways. Most extraordinary is that the cast is made up of first-time actors, though this isn’t noticeable. The lack of music adds a naturalistic element to the film, and I found myself drawn to the characters and their conflicts despite the fact that Nader is one of the least likable lead movie characters in my recent memory. Much of that is a credit to Claudio Giovannesi, who directed a film that’s traditionally Italian in its scope yet embraces the multicultural aspects of modern Europe.
RATING: One of the better “cultural clash” films I’ve seen in some time (8/10).
Tribeca Film Festival Screening Times
April 25 4:00PM Clearview Cinemas Chelsea
April 27 4:00PM Clearview Cinemas Chelsea
Recent Comments