"On A Wing and a Prayer" is a well made documentary that tackles tough issues with warmth and humor.
The basic outline is that Monem, a Muslim American who lives in small town America and works as a portfolio manager, wants to learn how to fly a plane. His father was a commercial pilot for 37 years, and this has been a lifelong desire for him. Seems simple enough, except that the first flight school he applies to asks the FBI to investigate him because he's Muslim. This results in Monem going to a different flight school and becoming even more determined to see his dream come true.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect from my point of view was that they show him doing interfaith dialogues and reaching out to both Muslims and Non-Muslims in his community. His Muslim identity is part and parcel of his American identity. Here is a man who defies every Muslim stereotype in the book. I must say, that within only a few minutes of the movie I was already rooting for him.
You also get to meet his wife and see them interact together on camera. His wife, Iman, also an American Muslim, is absolutely charming. She too defies the stereotype of the "oppressed" Muslim woman and shows that she actually has a sharp wit and strong will. The scene in which they argue about whether to go to Paris or the Middle East for vacation shows a cute couple who are clearly on equal footing.
Yes they are a cute couple, he's a normal guy, and she's a normal woman, but they deal with a lot of up hill battles. Rather than try to ignore them they face them head on. The questions he gets at the interfaith conference, the poem she reads, and the conversations they have with each other and their fellow Muslims show what it's like for this group of people in America to have to face down profiling and stereotypes. I won't go into too much detail because it's all there in the movie, but needless to say, his struggle to fly a plane is much more than just learning the mechanics of the aircraft.
As much as I loved this film, I ultimately couldn't give it a ten star rating because the advertisement made me think the FBI was going to be involved in a more grounded way. Rather, it's the betrayal and profiling of the flight school that he attempted to go to first that serves as the catalyst for the rest of the film. The FBI doesn't really do anything substantial to him other than follow up on the "tip" they got from the flight school, which results in no action. You don't even see an agent at any point in the film. I know it's obviously better for Monem that he didn't get investigated, but it does take some of the drama out of the film. Nonetheless, this is still a great documentary and definitely worth watching.
In all, this is an invaluable example of how unhelpful profiling is and a fantastic look into the lives of an often misunderstood and stereotyped group of Americans. I recommend it whole heartedly.
