User reviews

Written by the Sultan of Sharjah, this is his personal view of characters and events which differs very much from historical truth. For one, Alfonso de Albuquerque was the founder of Goa and therefore Portuguese India. He fought many battles, this being one of the least significant. He was much more keen on ruling Ormus, which he succeeded to conquer in 1515 through a mixture of intrigue and intimidation.

Khorfakkan changed hands many times throughout the 16th century, the Portuguese even built a fort there which was razed by Persians a few decades later. They were driven away by the climate which they could not adjust to. The Portuguese consider Albuquerque one of their most important military leaders and one of the biggest squares in Lisbon is named after him. So this film is pretty far off the mark although resistance against colonial rule was of course fully justified.

While there are a few good films from Saudi, Jordan and Qatar (well, they put their money in a few good ones), Emirati films disappoint. They've got the money, they've got the stories, but they don't have the imagination to bring anything convincing to the screen. So this film, like all films from there, feels lifeless, artificial and empty. I wish this wasn't the case, but the Emirates really have to try harder.

The plot revolves around the historical invasion of Portuguese on Khorfakkan, pretty straightforward and decent war plot .. but the screewriting and dialogue throughout the movie at some points were pale and unnecessary.

The direction had alot of potential, the choreography of the action scenes were so rushed and edited very poorly. At other parts they were perfectly done, so it could have been much better.

The cinematography was just absolutely phenomenal and breathtaking. They really do show the beauty of khorfakkan with it's mountains over the sea view. It carried the story telling very well. It was ruined a couple of times from the non-perfect CGI but it doesn't ruin the experience.

The casting and the characters had depth and variety of emotion ranges, It felt real and genuine. At least most of the actors, some side characters were not ideal. But the main characters were perfectly fit for their roles with top notch acting !!

Overall I think it deserves an 8/10 specially because of the usual emirati standards that are quite low. This movie might change the UAE cinema forever.

I'm so proud to see khorfakkan story on the big screen, we had great time watching the movie, huge thanks to everyone who played a role on this amazing movie.

I saw one review that said this is not historically correct. I do not know the history behind this, only to say that European colonialism was pretty damned evil and the Portugese were a big part of that, including in Brazil. They were also a big part of the slave trade. Without giving spoilers, the Portugese are portrayed mostly evil, especially Afonso de Albuquerque. He represents the power of the king and is imperial (and imperious) in his behavior. The actor is very convincing. The residents of Khorfakkan are portrayed as mostly brave, strictly religious an defensive of their city. A few are craven collaborators, which is certainly understandable with the brutality that is their other alternative. The movie is not for the faint of heart and has some pretty awful scenes of abuse, so trigger warnings are in order. It's a morality play and for those of us who know something of colonial history, it is in the same ilk as Heart of Darkness, The Life and Times of Michael K, The Dying Grass and other portrayals of European or US contacts with indigent residents. The film is well assembled and the story is compelling. The costumes, weapons and ships look to be very correct for the time and the action is well done, no glaring errors or bad CGI. The acting is very good and the score works well with the film. Is it propaganda, as is claimed by one reviewer? I am not going to judge it as such. I would judge it higher than an 8 if I knew the answer. 8 or a 9? At any rate, a good movie that I would reccommend.