What Will People Say (2017)

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

If you want to make a film about Pakistani culture, cast pakistani actors or at least film it in Pakistan. because the only place which slightly looks like the place shown in the film is in old Lahore. Also the fact that festival movies like these only portray the same old narrative. theyre are millions of people in Pakistan with a much more "liberal" mindset than that.

"Hva vil folk si" or "What Will People Say" is a new Norwegian movie that premiered in 2017 already and managed a solid amount of awards recognition already and I truly hope a lot will follow. Writer and director of these 105 minutes is Iram Haq and her name already gives away vaguely the direction this film is going to take. There is not too much Norwegian in here except the boyfriend early on perhaps. This is the story of a Muslim teenager stuck between modern age-appropriate life and the bodns that come with her religion. When she gets caught with her boyfriend by her conservative father, he and her brother abduct her and take her back in the country of her forefathers where she is supposed to find out about the core values of who she is. Or I should say who everybody else wants her to be. It is really tragic. This film is not scared at all of depicting taboos and it is all very shocking. The abduction scene is one example. Another is the constant physical and psychological violence brought upon the poor young woman. It's a journey of suffering. And the status quo in the country where she is abducted too really made me shiver. The scene with the officers is particularly shokcing really when also an element of sexual abuse comes into play. Heartbreaking stuff how she is punished again and again for thing she did not even do and even if she did it would have been something girls her age do when they feel affection, maybe even love, for somebody else. Another less drastic, but equally sad moment was when she listens to the conversation between her dad and the boy's dad and the boy himself because it seems she really likes him, but of course he is also unable to break through and stand up to her and go against his dad. There is nobody supporting her in her life. And tha last chapter with the forced marriage and her basically being sent to Canada where she will have nothing in her life other than an existence as a (house)wife and mother to a not particularly handsome doctor and his future children. This is the moment that her father realizes how wrong he ahs been, at least to some extent and it's finally the first time he lets her go at the very end, which is as close to a happy end the film can get while still managing to stay realistic. Sure you could ask if it feels authentic that he watches while doing nothing when she runs away with all he did before, especially the potential suicide scene, but I let him get away with that because the one area where he always wanted his daughter to be happy was when it came to her dreams in the world of jobs and professions. And after all, he did not have the power to kill her himself, not even close. He was suffering a lot at the same time too. I actually really liked that the last shot of the film was on his face and not on the daughter as it showed how he stays back and she may be on her way into a hopefully happier life and world at that point. A great cast overall and a huge thumbs-up to Maria Mozhdah, who is a scene stealer in every scene from start to finish and may have a very bright career ahead of her. Same thumbs up to woman filmmaker Haq for her bold and painfully real depiction here. She is not willing to make things right. There is no emotional ending with the family unrealistically loving and hugging the daughter out of nowhere. It would have been a joke actually with the mother saying shortly before that that she wishes Nisha would never have been born. A film that is painful to watch because of how good it is and how close it is to the truth. I would not be surprised at all if this story happed to 100s, maybe 1000 Nishas out there who eventually ended up stuck in an unhappy (for them) marriage. Highly highly recommended,one of 2017's very best movies. Some gerat talent involved here. An absolute must-see.

"You mean everything to me," Mirza tells his teenage daughter Nisha. Apparently "everything" is far less important than what others might say, for Mirza cares deeply about such opinions. When it is discovered that Nisha sneaks out the window at night, adopts Western ways and is not the compliant and traditional Pakistani daughter she appears, Mirza goes ballistic. Nisha is as stubborn as her father though and manages to outsmart him at first, but there is little sympathy from other relatives. They encourage Mirza's firm hand. Nisha's smart phone is chucked into the snow, freedoms are drastically curtailed and Nisha is threatened with a one-way ticket to Islamabad. Sooner or later father or daughter, or both, must break. I thought I knew where this film was going, but it went deeper than I thought it would and in different directions. The story is fantastic and thrilling; dead ends become glimmers of light (and the other way around), characters are torn apart by the choices they make and there are intriguing glimpses into the Norse and Pakistani ways of life. The director is a natural. She controls mood like a sorceress; sound is contrasted with silence, close-ups reveal the glimmer of flames in the eyes of characters and scenes flow seamlessly into each other. The acting is not flawless, but thoroughly convincing. The ending scene will stay with me, hopefully forever. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

I had the chance of seeing this movie screening in Bergen, Norway in Bergen International Film Festival, on 2nd Oct 2017. I had seen the trailer before and went with a bit of expectation. The movie exceeded my expectations with much difference. The debutante Mariah Mozdah is phenomenal portraying the daughter of a Pakistani family settled in Norway. She is torn apart between to cultures, the socially progressive Norway life and also her traditional family at home. Adil Hussain portrays the role of a doting father who values the societal norms and acceptance of his community very much. All of his thoughts comes under fire when he finds his daughter's white boyfriend. He decides to send his daughter to Pakistan, to his relatives, to discipline her and teach her their culture. Both Mariah and Adil have invested a lot of efforts into their performance. And the direction by Iram Haq really forces us to question and protest all the societal norms that we fear and surrender ourselves to knowingly and unknowingly. A must watch.