Mustafa Shehata in You Will Die at Twenty. (Courtesy Film Movement)
One of the few upsides to area arthouses going virtual is that bookings are no longer dictated by the requirements of a physical space. I’m not sure that in normal times “You Will Die at Twenty” could pull enough patrons to warrant a regular engagement on the Brattle’s single screen. But online screenings allow for multiple, more adventurous options, so thanks to the Brattlite we’ve got a chance to check out this remarkable debut film from writer-director Amjad Abu Alala, Sudan’s first-ever submission to the Academy Awards and (according to the press notes) only the eighth motion picture to be made in that country. Don’t be put off by the awful title, it’s actually an enormously life-affirming piece of work a wryly funny folk tale of innocence and experience. It’s a film about navigating the space between worldliness and godliness, illustrating how like the old country song goes sometimes y
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.
âYou Will Die at Twentyâ Review: Death, and Life, on the Nile
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.
Islam Mubarak in “You Will Die at Twenty.”Credit.Film Movement
By Devika Girish
NYT Critic s Pick
Drama
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A folk tale turns existential in âYou Will Die at Twenty,â 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.