Hey folks, Valkor here. What if you're put in a situation where
you know it could taint you for the rest of your life. It would
affect your family, workplace, friends, etc… But what if the situation
were funny? Well that's what you'd get when you mix comedy with
religion, you get "The Infidel", directed by Josh Appignanesi
and written by David Baddiel.
The Infidel reflects on a Muslim family, the Nasir's, mainly
the dad of the clan Mahmud Nasir (Omid Djalili) who one day, while
rifling through his now deceased mother's things, he finds his
old birth certificate. Turns out our boy Mahmud is adopted and
what's worse… his real name is Solomon (Solly) Shimshillewitz
The Infidel might be a bit discomforting for some, especially
if you're on either side of Muslim or Jew, and it might also be
considered… offensive… a little. However it doesn't play too much
on stereotypes; the film wasn't made in the U.S. because if it
were it would downright raunchy.
Yea someone in the U.S. should look into remaking this, but as
it stands…
The Good:
The Infidel is a laugh riot and a smart comedy from beginning
to end. You pretty much know how it's all gonna play out and the
film does reach a compromisable conclusion that should satisfy
everyone. It's all about tolerance and really, why can't we laugh
at one another? This film doesn't spit on any one religion in
particular (at least not too much) but does play on the stereotypes,
again, not as heavy as if this film were to be done in the U.S.
Omid's Mahmud is like a Muslim Ralph Kramden (from the Honeymooner
series for those who don't know); he's loud, he's overbearing
and pushy, but he's also quite funny and he even has some dance
moves similar to Ralph. And his wife in the film, Saamiya (played
by Archie Panjabi) – totally Alice Kramden, even though Mahmud
is the man of the house, she doesn't taken any shit from him,
but loves him all the same. Richard Schiff gives an excellent
performance as teacher, drunken cabby Lenny. I enjoyed the hell
out of this guy! Pacing is pretty brisk and even and the jokes
are well spread out, timed perfectly, and almost always spot on
funny, which is good for me because as far as Britcoms go… I'm
not their biggest fan. So an excellent comedy, great cast, The
Infidel is a fantastic film.
The Bad:
Honestly… there's not a damn thing wrong with the film; it's
spot on perfect!
The Ugly:
N/A
In this age of religious intolerance, it would be nice if we
could just take a step back and learn to not only appreciate one
another, but have a good laugh at ourselves. And "The Infidel"
is definitely a laugh in the right direction. Look I'm all for
equality in religion and I believe that faith, no matter what
god you believe in, comes from within. And there's nothing that
anyone can say or do can take that away. So with that I say, live
life and enjoy it for all it's worth. I'm givin The Infidel 4.5
stars out of 5 and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved.
