Of Fathers and Sons

Talal Derki's homeland is in disarray. He travels back to uncover the complex web Jihadists from ISIS and al-Nusra have spun in response to the enemies of God. Following the family of one minesweeper for the al-Nusra front, the film has a disturbing yet enlightening effect. This father passes his core fanatical beliefs onto his three sons. They are a tightly knit family, but the father's teachings play out in more consequential ways than he might have imagined. The eldest son, Osama, named after the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, is particularly disruptive among his schoolmates. The two younger sons are fostered to think violence for the sake of violence is acceptable because God willed it so. It is very tragic to witness the path these boys are led down only to become part of a war machine that may never succeed against more technologically advanced world superpowers. I highly recommend watching this documentary if you want to take a much deeper look into the Global War on Terrorism and how Islamist extremists are cultured.

Not sure if insight is the right word.....a look at a world that remains foreign to Westerners - I have watched it a few times and tried to pick up small pieces of info and imagine how the view of the world is presented when growing up in that environment. The story for me presented a look at how the world looks from inside a family that has had the same views presented over generations - I did not try to analyze any political meaning...to me that is not what the film was about.

RHETORIC: The Meaning of the formal Rhetorical jihadist teachings in which they pervert Islam to suit their own views!

1 often disapproving : language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable absolutist/activist/racist rhetoric angry rhetoric See More Examples 2 : the art or skill of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to persuade or influence people (especially with the use of the Internet and other widespread social media technology).

A completely unbiased story - it takes no sides whatsoever - that took 2 years to make. It exposes the day to day teachings, of hate and murder, of an idiot, lowlife and uneducated father to his sons. We are shown how the next generation of, twisted Jihadist rhetoric, chauvinistic and future barbaric murderers are brainwashed from an early age (younger than 2 to 3 years of age). The twisting of a way of faith that - with each generation of children - will one day become so distant from the real teachings of Allah that, Islam will be a split faith like Christianity; when it separated into Catholics and Protestants.

Its a must see for all - especially non Muslim - people of the world, in so much as it will give them some sort of understanding of how, and why, we are all suffering from this barbaric brutality mindset - of a group of twisted evil Jihad men and women; distorting the true teachings of Islam to benefit their own wants, needs and greed!

In the post-9/11 world that we all live in, there is a lot of talk thrown around about jihadism. Some of it in historical context, some of it in war-mongering context, and pretty much everything in between. However, one thing that rarely (if ever) gets scene is the day-to-day life activities of people who consider themselves to be jihadists. That is what documentarian Talal Derki accomplishes, somewhat remarkably, in "Of Fathers and Sons".

The setup to this documentary is that Derki returns to his homeland of Syria (where he was born) under the pretense of being a "war photojournalist" and is harbored by Abu Osama and his family. In reality, though, his goal is to film this subversive doc and give viewers a portrait of jihadist life in Syria.

Besides opening and closing narrations, this entire film is presented essentially "without comment". The camera never turns back to Derki or includes any sort of monologue or opinion on the matters at hand. That is completely left up to the viewer, and in this case there is much to think about.

On one hand, it is easy to see why this type of lifestyle could be considered "backwards" or misconstrued into hatred. Abu names his son Osama in honor of the 9/11 attacks, an immediate window into the Osama family outlook. One's entire lifespan seems to be devoted to a war cause, women are nonexistent at best and heavily persecuted at worst, while the children are raised in an environment of constant bullying and physical confrontation. One gets the sense that these people are sort of "brainwashed into their cause" with no hope for peace even existing.

But then, there is the more human side of things portrayed just as stark. Despite harboring ideologies that are likely extremely different (if not usually outright offensive) to most Americans, Abu clearly loves his children and they him. After experiencing one instance of severe physical hardship, Abu comforts his children as they weep for him. His two oldest sons eventually are sent off to a military camp, and I challenge any viewer not to feel at least something as they cry themselves to sleep at night.

In the end, I think the hallmark of "Of Fathers and Sons" is the humanizing effect it has on jihadists. Am I completely sympathetic to their cause? Absolutely not. However, inside access like this does indeed show them to be individuals capable of love and emotion. I would argue they are extremely misguided in many key ways, but yet still human down at their base level.

So often, America/Islam relations are all about "us vs. them", and often for good reason (wars have been perpetuated by both sides of that coin). What Derki shows here, though, is that it truly is only political/theological ideology that separates "us from them". Strip down the layers to the barest human selves, and you'll find yourself caring for their plight (self-inflicted as it may be) perhaps more than you ever realized.

"Trying to hide my immense fear, I said goodbye to my wife and son." Going deep into a family of terrorists and directing a ducumentery itself is so shocking and fearful. A story of the intergenerational production of terrorist, the dust, the smog, the prayer, all of them just be told so calmly, but all have a great mania. Like the pure black smog rising in the end, the story is a long nightmare.