The Infidel

This movie had me laughing right from the start! It's set around a Muslim man who doesn't care too much about religion until he finds out he's adopted.. and Jewish.

Omid Djalili gave an unsurprising great comedic delivery. He was so convincing as the typical Muslim man who doesn't pray all the time, fast every single day of Ramadan, or always abstain from alcohol. Yet he finds a reason to form a closeness with religion after he finds out shocking and upsetting news that he was born Jewish.

Every single scene in this movie will have you laughing in tears at the ridiculousness of the culture people have created in regards to religion. The plot is a little bit more complex but I don't want to give away too much. If you're Muslim or Jewish, you should definitely watch this movie because I know you'll love this film and want to recommend it to all your friends and family.

Viewed at the Festival de Film 2011, Cannes

Omid Djalili is a brilliant comedian. So is David Baddiel, the writer. But The Infidel's biggest weakness is its contrived and less than fully functional script: a proud Muslim man discovers he's actually Jewish. Roll on the floor clutching your sides? Afraid not.

It's not that the film's heart is in the wrong place, but it wears its liberal credentials and heart so openly, flaunting them on both sleeves, so desperate not to offend it takes no risks whatsoever and comes over as, at best, anodyne.

Yes there are some good laughs, but they are occasional and not frequent enough. Instead, we get the author using the characters to give a wave-the-index finger lecture about the need for all of us to get on and look below the surface that is religion and judge the person. Problem is, for many people religion is more than surface deep but the core of the individual, so all reality is missing from this film. Just pause for a second and consider how a strictly religious community would most likely react to discovering one of its members is actually batting for the other side, as it were.

Well, fair enough, this is meant to be a comedy, which brings me back to my main criticism: it's not that funny. Omid Djalili has his moments, rolling his eyes and floundering around as his whole life and identity is turned upside down. He also has the perfect white, liberal, Guardian-reading, Channel 4-viewing person's ideal of the perfect Muslim family. Like I say, contrived to the nines.

This is an audience that doesn't need this film because it's already presold on it. Will the film change the mindset of the less tolerant members of the community? Of course not, because they won't go see it anyway. As entertainment it falls flat because it's too preachy, too well intentioned, telling you to eat your broccoli and explaining why it's good for you. In fact, if all concerned were not part of the charmed inner circle of British film making, The Infidel would never have got made to start with, any decent producer rejecting the script at the outset.

Surely this film is one of my favourites. The storyline in itself is not much special, it all works out in the end, happy ending.

But how it plays with the various prejudices is great. From very subtle and in the background to very penetrating.

The scenes where Saamiya and her friend in nikaab are gossiping or playing sports are great. My absolute favourite joke is when Lenny welcomes Mahmud into the global conspiracy when it tells him what is going on.

Painful is Mahmud's employee suddenly resigning when Mahmud's situation comes out.

Omid Jalili plays a great role, very believable as a man whose entire self-image completely collapses when he discovers his origins. The jokes could have been a bit more confrontational as far as I am concerned, but all in all a film I enjoyed watching and will watch more often.

A kind of film that unfortunately would no longer be made in the current climate. You will have to make a lot of effort to even find it on a streaming service. Pity because it shows very clearly that we are all human beings, and a lot of problems are solvable.

After a long time, I get the chance to see another charming little British comedy in the form of David Baddiel's 'The Infidel'. In times like this, when there is so much tension in the world between people of different religious backgrounds, 'The Infidel' has come at the right time. But while the film has a relevant message addressing the tension between Muslims and Jews, at heart, it's a comedy. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and the cultural and religious clashes are hilariously depicted. Directorially Josh Apignanessi has done a fine. Baddiel's writing is sharp and his original story is well displayed on screen. Omid Djalili is remarkable as Mahmud, the Muslim who doesn't pray fives times a day, who doesn't fast every day of Ramadan and who occasionally has a(n alcoholic) drink, but whose world is shattered when he discovers that his biological parents are Jews. Archie Punjabi looks a little too young to play the mother of a twenty-something young man. Otherwise she is terrific with a laidback performance as Mahmud's wife. Richard Schiff is hilarious as he once again depicts his flair for dry humour.

'The Infidel' gets a little dramatic in the pre-ending sequences. Sometimes it's a tad too preachy. However, there are plenty of laugh out loud moments to keep one thoroughly entertained. Cleverly written, well directed, wonderfully acted, 'The Infidel' is tickling entertainment.

I've just returned from what the organizers dubbed as "The World Premier" of 'The Infidel' at the Hammersmith Apollo, and the mere fact that the first thing on my mind is to review it should say something about this strategically mastered movie written by David Baddiel, who to my surprise can deliver an equally hilarious stand up performance.

The movie takes place in East London and it revolves around the life the Mahmud Nasir a semi-liberal Muslim family man minicab driver whose world gets disrupted by his mother's death and goes into an emotional period compounded by his son's recent engagement to a Pakistani "hate cleric's" step daughter. Mahmud uncovers his birth certificate while cleaning out his mother's stuff and eventually discovers that he is adopted and his original parents are Jewish.

As Mahmud's world swivels in a state of disarray he turns to the only Jewish person he knows, semi-alcoholic recently divorced clinically depressed Lenny (Richard Schiff from The West Wing), who takes it upon himself to teach now 'Solly Shimshillewitz' Jewishness! The two embark on a journey of "oy vey" rehearsals and 'Fiddler on the Roof' reaction sessions as Lenny shows Mahmud the difference between the various types of London Jews. Mahmud's life takes a turn for the worse when he accidentally uncovers wearing a yarmulke at a pro-Palestine rally to which he reacts and subsequently becomes blessed by the "hate cleric".

During this period Mahmud questions his identity and goes into a cathartic phase where logic prevails and he reaches a firm conclusion of who he is and what it means to be Mahmud Nasir.

This tactically mastered comedy touches on subjects regarded as taboo in the film industry and attempts to portray logical religious soundness at a time when religious righteousness is synonymous with hate. A well delivered comedy filled with laugh out loud moments entertains, educates and surprises with a performance by Omid Djalili that can only be described as "joyfully expected".