The movie takes us into the slums of Morocco and follows a young man, Hamid, as he experiences life under rather abominable conditions. He struggles to make sense of his life and to make a little money for his family. He sells oranges on the street and is harassed and driven out by thugs who want a split of his profits. He goes to work for an abusive, alcoholic mechanic while his drug dealing brother goes to jail. When not working Hamid and his friends sit around smoking dope. He like a local girl, but the chance of ever getting her are little better than zero. The entire ambiance of the slum is beautifully rendered, you feel you're really there with the dust and the heat and the feeling of hopelessness. His brother comes back from jail a changed man. He has become a Serious Muslim.
Hamid, is recruited by Muslims into their group. At first he's skeptical, but because they help him out of a serious jam, and because they represent discipline and friendship he is gradually won over to their cause. You can see clearly the attraction of these Muslim fellowships for young guys who have little hope in the slums. To this point everything is perfectly clear. You understand the Hanid's motivations. He finds a home among the strict, observant Muslims. Of course there's a lot of extremist propaganda too, served along with the camaraderie. They show videos of Osama bin Laden and jihadis training for jihad.
But at this point in the film we experience a sudden and bizarre turn of events. Well, not so surprising considering we know that such things occur too often in the real world, but bizarre and sudden in terms of the psychology of the characters. A handful, including Hamid, are chosen to become suicide bombers and they go willingly and without question to their deaths. This is of course the enigma of the suicide bomber. No other religion encourages their followers to blow themselves up for religious reasons. There is something intensely insane in the way Islam is practiced in those countries.
The young men are being asked to blow up bars and nightclubs frequented by Europeans in order to kill innocent civilians. The fact that the Europeans have nothing to do with the conditions they have to live under in the slums, or that killing them could have any practical effect on improving conditions, is never considered by either the guys who give the orders or by the selected bombers themselves. Obviously the situation of the suicide bombers is not at all like the Kamikazes, who sacrificed themselves in a battle where their deaths could make an actual difference. Perhaps these young men actually believe that they'll go to Paradise and have lots of girlfriends. Perhaps their material and cultural context is so impoverished they come to prefer death over life..
The movie does not take sides in this. It is a crazy situation for which, ultimately, there is no explanation. Without flinching or editorializing the film just shows what actually happens and it is up to up to make sense of it. Or no sense. Since it makes no sense we are left with the enigma.
Hamid, is recruited by Muslims into their group. At first he's skeptical, but because they help him out of a serious jam, and because they represent discipline and friendship he is gradually won over to their cause. You can see clearly the attraction of these Muslim fellowships for young guys who have little hope in the slums. To this point everything is perfectly clear. You understand the Hanid's motivations. He finds a home among the strict, observant Muslims. Of course there's a lot of extremist propaganda too, served along with the camaraderie. They show videos of Osama bin Laden and jihadis training for jihad.
But at this point in the film we experience a sudden and bizarre turn of events. Well, not so surprising considering we know that such things occur too often in the real world, but bizarre and sudden in terms of the psychology of the characters. A handful, including Hamid, are chosen to become suicide bombers and they go willingly and without question to their deaths. This is of course the enigma of the suicide bomber. No other religion encourages their followers to blow themselves up for religious reasons. There is something intensely insane in the way Islam is practiced in those countries.
The young men are being asked to blow up bars and nightclubs frequented by Europeans in order to kill innocent civilians. The fact that the Europeans have nothing to do with the conditions they have to live under in the slums, or that killing them could have any practical effect on improving conditions, is never considered by either the guys who give the orders or by the selected bombers themselves. Obviously the situation of the suicide bombers is not at all like the Kamikazes, who sacrificed themselves in a battle where their deaths could make an actual difference. Perhaps these young men actually believe that they'll go to Paradise and have lots of girlfriends. Perhaps their material and cultural context is so impoverished they come to prefer death over life..
The movie does not take sides in this. It is a crazy situation for which, ultimately, there is no explanation. Without flinching or editorializing the film just shows what actually happens and it is up to up to make sense of it. Or no sense. Since it makes no sense we are left with the enigma.