Sudanese Oscar hopeful examines the effects of living under a curse
Author of the article: Chris Knight
Publishing date: Jan 29, 2021 • January 29, 2021 • 2 minute read • Mustafa Shehata contemplates his fate in You Will Die at Twenty. Photo by Film Movement
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
Here’s a simple setup for you. A new mother brings her baby boy, Muzamil, to a religious leader for a blessing. The kindly old man cradles the child and says nice things. Then, right next to them, a man repeating a prayer drops dead on the 20th recitation. That seals it, says the imam. Muzamil will die at 20.
عضوات بـ«الوفد» يقدمن الورود لرجال الشرطة: عيدهم لكل المصريين elwatannews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from elwatannews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Monday, 25 January, 2021 - 06:00
A shot from “You Will Die at Twenty” New York - Devika Girish
In his debut feature, Amjad Abu Alala deepens a fable-like premise into a lyrical confrontation with the certitudes of faith and the life-giving powers of doubt.
A folk tale turns existential in “You Will Die at Twenty,” the rapturous debut feature by the Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala.
In a sun-dappled village by the Nile, a holy sheikh tells Sakina (Islam Mubarak) that her newborn son, Muzamil, will live only two decades. The prophecy becomes too heavy a cross for their family to bear: Muzamil’s father soon abandons them, admitting softly to Sakina that he isn’t as strong as her.
Pass the Remote: Watch films competing for the Oscars Best International Feature award from home localnewsmatters.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from localnewsmatters.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.