A confession: I have never seen a Muslim-directed movie before, which I think, according to at least Haroon Moghul over at Religious Dispatches and I’m sure a few others, makes me rather impoverished. In his recent article, “How to Meet Muslims: A (Cinematic) Primer,” Moghul reviews what he regards as the Top Ten Films to see if you are interested in “meeting” a Muslim (as he puts it) and getting to know the faith and aspects of its diverse culture, too. He writes:
“The next best thing to a living, breathing Muslim is an approximation of one. That is, the silver screen (had you said robots, I’d counter: Muslims will be the last people on Earth to come up with robots). Why not? Movies explore the lives and experiences of Muslims in a format that can be watched as easily at home as on the train (that’s what iPads are for).”
Among the more interesting-sounding of the ten films, is ‘The Lizard,’ an Iranian movie which was apparently banned the moment it came out and that takes on the complexity of faith, about a criminal-turned-mullah. There are the requisite tragic-sounding films on the list, too (I tend to stay away from those), and a couple about suicide-boming, but the ones that most pique my curiosity are the comedies! Yes, there are comedies on this list, a healthy two in number, the best of which (in my opinion) sounds like ‘Bronx Princess.’ Moghul writes of the film:
“Bronx Princess [is] centered around a vivacious teen, almost off to college, whose father has been called back to West Africa, where he will serve as the chief of his people. She’s left to navigate the confusing tangle of religion, identity, and adolescence in the overwhelming cacophony of New York City.”
Okay, not the most enticing of descriptions, granted, but check out the film’s website, because it looks kind of awesome.