SunnyHello Nice effects though.

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

punishmentpark Mostly thanks to the BBC, I've come to know Omid Djalili as a funny, sympathetic loudmouth and that's why I was willing to give 'The infidel' a go. It all starts out pretty good, but the combination of drama and comedy becomes more and more awkward toward the end, and the part where the imam turns out to be a former pop star just didn't work for me at all - even if it based on one Yusuf Islam aka Cat Stevens.The scenes between Djalili and Richard Schiff are quite funny, although the humour doesn't always work; the whole Bar Mitswa scene should have been left out completely. A lot of supporting roles were worthwhile, especially those by Miranda Hart (adoption agent), Matt Lucas (rabbi) and Leah Fatania (daughter).Too bad about the downsides, but still good to see a little film like gets made and aired on the BBC, that's why I'm being lenient with my rating; 6 out of 10.P.s.: one the best jokes was religion-free, by the way: Mahmud leaves his house and faces the camera. A 'wind' rises... he looks around mysteriously... the viewer imagines a UFO could be landing any minute...? No, it's a guy with a leaf-blower...

Nick P I had high hopes for this film as I thought it would be a great clash of cultures comedy, especially with Omid Jalali as the star. Regrettably, to my disappointment it fell very flat. The film started off quite well and was humorous, but it soon became dry and felt like an old fashioned TV sketch. Hence, the camera was just filming dry witty dialogue exchanges of the same thing over and over again with limited change in camera angle, which made it boring.Despite being fiction, the set up of the characters depicted were confusing and consequently hard to believe. Omid Jalali is supposed to be a London born Pakistani, despite being adopted from Jewish descent from a very young age. However, any Islamic references from Omid sounded very Arabic/middle eastern, which contrasted greatly with his family who were clearly British Pakistani and felt like they were non-Londoners particularly with the Northern Burke friend. Consequently, I wasn't sure if I was in Bradford or London. Furthermore, I found it hugely Ironic that the fanatic Egyptian cleric sounded heavily Israeli!!! It was even more ironic that he was suppose to be Egyptian but had a daughter and wife that looked clearly Pakistani/Indian rather than Egyptian! Nothing wrong with make believe but all of it didn't gel and soured the movie.If Omid Jalali's family was set up as a London Arabic/Persian family, I think this would have had a huge positive difference to the film by making it feel more real and funny! Mainly because this is what Omid knows and he could have exploited a lot of the day to day humour without having to make spoofed Jewish/Muslim references all the time that soon got dull. The film also conveyed the impression that all Muslims were anti-Jewish and all Jewish people were anti-Muslim just because of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict. Consequently, I thought this was very two dimensional and unrealistic and it put me off the film. Some positive points, the climax was quite entertaining and the first 10 minutes were good to watch. It also had a nice dramatic undertone as Omid Jalali goes on his quest for his roots. There were also humorous moments throughout, but they would only earn a smirk rather than laughter. Overall, this could have been such a great film if it was done in a better way and I think it's poor performance at the box office reflects that. However, If you have a British Pakistani background, I'd suggest watching the film as you may enjoy it as it seem's more tailored for a British Pakistani audience. If you're easy going and enjoy dry British or ethnic humour you may also enjoy it. However, if you're having a night in and you want a good comedy to enjoy, avoid this and pick up something like "Knocked Up" for guaranteed entertainment.

FlashCallahan Mahmud Nasir lives with his pretty wife and two children. His son plans to marry Uzma, the step-daughter of Egyptian-born Arshad Al-Masri, a so-called 'Hate Cleric'.Mahmud, is not exactly a devout Muslim, he drinks alcohol, and does not pray five times, but does agree that he will appease Arshad, without whose approval the marriage cannot take place.Shortly thereafter Mahmud, while going over his recently deceased mother's documents, will find out that he was adopted, his birth parents were Jewish, and his name is actually Solly Shimshillewitz.He conceals this information from his family, and with the help of his neighbour, tries to understand the Jews, their religion and even locates his birth-father, who is on his death-bed in a nursing home.Mahmud does not know that Arshad has been checking into his background, has videotaped him setting fire to a Jewish cap during a protest, and has already approved of him, despite of his letter to the media about 'moderate Muslims'.But on the day of the meeting with Arshad and Uzma - Mahmud will find his life drastically changed...Back in the nineties, Baddiel was a comedy genius, giving us some of the freshest material against a lot of British has beens ho were constantly going on about the government. Fast forward almost twenty years, and Baddiel is turning into one of those comedians, with this lukewarm affair.The film just gets tangles up in it's own smugness, it tries to be too clever, the premise is simple, but gets bogged down by the silly script and the unclear narrative.The cast are good, and for a stand up comedian, Djalli is great in the lead role.But the film appears to be too careful as to who it will offend, where it should have done the opposite, making it a little controversial.There are interesting aspects though, the sub-plot involving the disgraced eighties singer is a good inclusion, but the rest of it is sadly wasted, despite the good cast and the good intentions.

DICK STEEL When I watched this film I wonder if a story like this could actually come out from Singapore's film industry. After all, we're one multi-racial and multi-religious melting pot so the context of having such characters here isn't that far fetched, and to have this screened here (albeit under an M18 rating), does say something. Moreover, it's a great film speaking up against religious fanaticism, and aimed its sights well at false prophets who adopt a holier than thou attitude in hoodwinking their followers.Mahmud Nasir (Omid Djalili) and his family are a typical moderate Muslim family, with Mahmud himself living the rather carefree life that had just overcome the death of his mom. His son Rashid (Amit Shah) announces that his intended fiancée and wife to be Uzma (Soraya Radford) will soon be getting a new stepdad, and as it turns out permission for her hand in marriage will have to be sought from none other than Arshad El Masri (Yigal Naor), a firebrand Pakistani cleric infamous for his anti-Western tirades. To Mahmud, this spells trouble to be associated with such a negative, high profile figure, but for the love of his son, have to put up his best behaviour when this international figure comes for a visit to discuss marriage. Not to mention the stress of having to portray himself as a devout Muslim man!And to make matters worse, like the trailer already suggested at length, Mahmud discovers while clearing up his mom's place that he's adopted, and traces his lineage to be actually that of a Jew. A major identity crisis ensues because of his son's future happiness, and of course him having to rediscover and seek out the truth about his roots. With his birth father in critical health in the hospital and at the insistence of a rabbi (Matt Lucas), Mahmud has to reconnect with his Jewish roots in order to stand a whiff of a chance to talk to a man on his deathbed. Thus begins a comedy of errors arising from a clash of obvious cultures and attitudes when Mahmud has to reconcile with a one-time enemy Lenny Goldberg (Richard Schiff), in order to learn the Jewish customs and culture in double quick time.There are plenty of jokes here that treaded the fine line of being racist, and I mean a very fine line. But as the movie put it across, it isn't racist if the one telling it is actually highlighting and poking fun at one's own race, which leaves some food for deeper thought. So we have a barrage of comical situations, some brilliantly crafted and full of wit, while others fell flat and came across as quite distastefully done, but nonetheless there were more positive rip-roaring moments than not, which I feel only the relatively more uptight folks will find additional reasons not to let loose and enjoy the film as it is.More importantly though, beyond the laughter, is its theme of family and friendship that transcends how we look and who we are on the surface, segregated and branded by our name, or religion, or culture, which should never be the case. Sure we can have the freedom to believe in what we want, but with that also come tolerance for that of others, and a reminder never to judge others or compare just because we're different at that level, but fundamentally we belong to the same species inhabiting the same shared earth, and life will be all the more harmonious should we not try to impose bigoted thoughts on others.While the ending may seem a little bit stretched, it did work as intended, and provided a fitting finale with moderatism triumphing over extremism. Both Omid Djalili and Richard Schiff put up fine performances and share excellent chemistry together as enemies turned friends, with their scenes together being some of the best be it focused on physical comedy, or through that rapid fire exchange of insults. Highly recommended for its relevance in our day and age for the messages it sets out to counsel.