An unprecedented terrorist attack takes place at a peaceful cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The gunmen use religion to divide and kill, while the surviving hostages, all of them Muslim, try to de... Read allAn unprecedented terrorist attack takes place at a peaceful cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The gunmen use religion to divide and kill, while the surviving hostages, all of them Muslim, try to defend their own humanistic values.An unprecedented terrorist attack takes place at a peaceful cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The gunmen use religion to divide and kill, while the surviving hostages, all of them Muslim, try to defend their own humanistic values.
- Director
- Writer
- Stars
- Awards
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total
Parambrata Chattopadhyay
- Polash
- (as Parambrata Chatterjee)
Syed Gaosul Alam Shaon
- Chef
- (as Syed Gousal Alam Shaon)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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Featured reviews
Recommended movie!!
It was a visually stunning movie. The acting skill of all actor and actress was great. Especially I love Tisha. She was stunning with raw skills.
It was a true story-based movie which was about a tragedy that happened in Holy artisan bakery in gulshan. All people were shocked by that. This movie has pointed that view nicely. That was great work, sir Farooki. All actors give an incredible performance in this beautiful and moving film. The themes of family, culture, and loss are explored with nuance and depth.
A masterful work of art that leaves a lasting impression. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the story is both universal and personal. A truly remarkable movie. Must watch!
It was a true story-based movie which was about a tragedy that happened in Holy artisan bakery in gulshan. All people were shocked by that. This movie has pointed that view nicely. That was great work, sir Farooki. All actors give an incredible performance in this beautiful and moving film. The themes of family, culture, and loss are explored with nuance and depth.
A masterful work of art that leaves a lasting impression. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the story is both universal and personal. A truly remarkable movie. Must watch!
Bangladesh's Cinematic Pride: 'Saturday Afternoon'
"Saturday Afternoon" is a deeply emotional film directed by the talented Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, exploring a similar context to "The Holy Artisan Attack" which refers to a terrorist attack that took place on July 1, 2016, in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The target of the attack was the Holey Artisan Bakery, a popular café located in the Gulshan diplomatic zone of Dhaka. The attackers entered the café and took several hostages, including both locals and foreigners.
The storyline unfolds as a diverse group of individuals becomes trapped in a restaurant on a Saturday afternoon in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Farooki's skilled direction creates a palpable sense of tension within the confined space, effectively using it as a backdrop to delve into the characters' innermost fears, regrets, and desires.
The stellar performances of the cast, especially Nusrat Imrose Tisha in one of the lead roles and Zahid Hasan also, both contributed to the film's emotional depth. Infusing the film with genuine emotion, and the chemistry among the rest of the cast enhances the impact of the unfolding drama.
Visually, "Saturday Afternoon" offers a stunning cinematic experience. "Saturday Afternoon" is noteworthy not only for its compelling narrative but also for its remarkable camerawork, particularly the ambitious use of a single-shot technique. The film is crafted to appear as though it unfolds seamlessly in real-time, shot in a continuous take without any noticeable cuts. The cinematography and editing contribute to a seamless narrative flow, immersing the audience in the characters' lives.
However, opinions on the film's reception vary. While some laud it as a masterpiece that leaves a lasting impression, others express disappointment in what they perceive as a lack of story build-up and scattered plot elements.
I really liked the film personally and will recommend it to everyone.
8/10.
The storyline unfolds as a diverse group of individuals becomes trapped in a restaurant on a Saturday afternoon in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Farooki's skilled direction creates a palpable sense of tension within the confined space, effectively using it as a backdrop to delve into the characters' innermost fears, regrets, and desires.
The stellar performances of the cast, especially Nusrat Imrose Tisha in one of the lead roles and Zahid Hasan also, both contributed to the film's emotional depth. Infusing the film with genuine emotion, and the chemistry among the rest of the cast enhances the impact of the unfolding drama.
Visually, "Saturday Afternoon" offers a stunning cinematic experience. "Saturday Afternoon" is noteworthy not only for its compelling narrative but also for its remarkable camerawork, particularly the ambitious use of a single-shot technique. The film is crafted to appear as though it unfolds seamlessly in real-time, shot in a continuous take without any noticeable cuts. The cinematography and editing contribute to a seamless narrative flow, immersing the audience in the characters' lives.
However, opinions on the film's reception vary. While some laud it as a masterpiece that leaves a lasting impression, others express disappointment in what they perceive as a lack of story build-up and scattered plot elements.
I really liked the film personally and will recommend it to everyone.
8/10.
Saturday afternoon
This movie is one of my fav movies because it deals with a fun and entertainment who will free without any doubt can watch this movie. Story and scene are feel good. Songs of the movie the lyrics was nice. Every one should watch. Hero and heroin action is super with face expressions dancing also very good. This movie is one of my fav movies because it deals with a fun and entertainment who will free without any doubt can watch this movie. Story and scene are feel good. Songs of the movie the lyrics was nice. Every one should watch. Hero and heroin action is super with face expressions dancing also very good.
Is this the worst movie directed by Farooqi?
I have been going to watch this movie since 2019! At last, I have the opportunity. After a very good movie "Dhoob", I thought it would reach the top tier of the rank. But it totally disappoints me.
First of all, the script was so poor that I could not connect anything. The making was dull. Nothing special. I was so optimistic about the one take. But cinematography wasn't that promising, blocking wasn't good enough.
The plot, subplot, backstory, character arc, actually nothing is visible in this film. It's like a poor stage drama that is directed by a novice film student.
The making was so poor that I think his very early film "Made in Bangladesh" was far better than this.
The only good thing about this movie is the acting. All the promising characters were so amazing. But it is a shame not to see any minor artists deliver at least one sentence.
Overall, it is not the cinema that I was expecting. I believe this is one of the worst cinemas directed by Farooqi!
I hope he will come back very strongly. Best of luck for him.
First of all, the script was so poor that I could not connect anything. The making was dull. Nothing special. I was so optimistic about the one take. But cinematography wasn't that promising, blocking wasn't good enough.
The plot, subplot, backstory, character arc, actually nothing is visible in this film. It's like a poor stage drama that is directed by a novice film student.
The making was so poor that I think his very early film "Made in Bangladesh" was far better than this.
The only good thing about this movie is the acting. All the promising characters were so amazing. But it is a shame not to see any minor artists deliver at least one sentence.
Overall, it is not the cinema that I was expecting. I believe this is one of the worst cinemas directed by Farooqi!
I hope he will come back very strongly. Best of luck for him.
A Worthy Adaptation of Actual Tragic Events
This film is inspired by the real-life Holey Artisan attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh. But rather than make a film about the tragedy faced by real families, the filmmakers chose to create a fictional story based on a same premise: a group of terrorists attack a restaurant in Dhaka during the month of Ramadan and hold the patrons hostage, claiming to do so in the name of religion, murdering many of them over the course of the hostage crisis.
The characters depicted as the terrorists, hostage, and the restaurant staff, are all fictionalized. New characters are invented each of whose circumstances shed light on the hollow baselessness of the terrorists' botched mission.
Given that this is a film shot in a single take, it has the distinct feel of a one-act play, in which character drama unfolds through the dialogue. Despite the dark and tense premise, some of the dialogue elicited awkward chuckles from those of us watching and many of the lines of dialogue struck a chord as well.
I don't want to go into the details of the many interesting nuances of the film because I really think it's best to go in knowing nothing about the characters and learning about each of them as the narrative unfolds.
The characters depicted as the terrorists, hostage, and the restaurant staff, are all fictionalized. New characters are invented each of whose circumstances shed light on the hollow baselessness of the terrorists' botched mission.
Given that this is a film shot in a single take, it has the distinct feel of a one-act play, in which character drama unfolds through the dialogue. Despite the dark and tense premise, some of the dialogue elicited awkward chuckles from those of us watching and many of the lines of dialogue struck a chord as well.
I don't want to go into the details of the many interesting nuances of the film because I really think it's best to go in knowing nothing about the characters and learning about each of them as the narrative unfolds.
Did you know
- TriviaSaturday Afternoon (2019) is inspired on the Dhaka terror attack incident of 1st July, 2016. Five armed gunmen held up customers, mostly foreigners, at the Holey Artisan Bakery, Gulshan for 12 hours. They eventually killed 18 guests, two bakery staffs and two first respondent police officers. Among the dead victims are nine Italian citizens, seven Japanese, four Bangladeshis, one Indian and one American-Bangladeshi. All five gunmen were later killed when commandos from Bangladesh Army stormed the café in the morning of 2nd July in order to free the remaining hostages and bring an end to the siege.
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 23m(83 min)
- Color
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