Review of The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013) by Steve P — 24 May 2013

A very thought-provoking movie. It's a fresh look at fundamentalism from the perspective of a man who wants to escape his heritage and culture to become Western but finds it impossible to do so. The story combines flashback and present circumstances and the way the two eventually emerge into a moment of tense dilemma for the reporter interviewing the fundamentalist.

I really enjoyed the soundtrack - particularly a scene at the beginning taking place in the room of a sick and dying man - very potent community singing. The powerful message of this story is that choices are not always black-and-white.

Where people find themselves, what they find themselves doing, may not necessarily represent who they are in the core of their being. Putting people into boxes and thinking we know their stories without listening to them before making our judgments of others.