dgrolin

This movie suffers on a number of counts. The most obvious is that the lead actress (Nichole Hiltz) was ill-suited for a period piece. I am sure she would be well cast in a teen movie set in a modern high-school or some such. Jennifer Rubin would likely have brought the gravitas necessary to make the character more believable. Unfortunately, this miscasting of the lead role covers over a number of fair if not stellar performances by some of the secondary cast, such as Melanie Gutteridge's portrayal of the sister. Another problem is the poor script. The story is, by and large, predictable and the dialog falls flat and fails to give the sense of verisimilitude. Great acting can sometimes overcome poor scripts and poor acting can be overcome with an excellent script. Fail to provide either, inevitably leads to a poor overall experience; which unfortunately is what one gets from this movie.

A beautiful and touching movie that deserves a wider viewing than it is likely to get. Semra Turan plays Aicha, a second generation Turkish immigrant, who tries to break the mold. Neither entirely at home with her moderately conservative Muslim family, nor with her liberal Danish friends, Aicha's martial arts experience becomes a fight to find herself and have the strength to allow herself to be who she wants to be in spite of both family and friends.

Director Natasha Arthy manages to balance introspection and narrative so that it has depth without becoming ponderous philosophical discourse, and drawing on Xian Gao's choreography skills pays off in spectacular fight sequences. In the end, however, it is Semra Turan's stunning debut performance that gives this movie spirit. Raw charisma and requisite martial arts skills are complimented by heart to make her personal drama believable.

Well worth your while.