Young Ahmed

Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Belgium/France 84 Minutes

2019

​Starring: Idir Ben Addi, Myriem Akheddiou, Othmane Moumen

***1/2/***** After a little bit of a detour with their slightly experimental, but undeniably them, The Unknown Girl, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return with another focus depicting a brief glimpse into the events of a character who feels like they have operated well before the opening scene and will exist well after the cut to black. The virtually-in-every-scene Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi) becomes committed to executing a plot against his teacher Ines after he takes to heart an extremist view of the Quran. The Dardennes have such affection for their characters, and their actions feel both organic in their world while also compelling and engaging in world of the viewers. In many ways, Young Ahmed feels like one of their most stripped down narratives while also being their most packed, with many of the layers and fine details reserved for brief exchanges, glances, and details in the performances. When the action begins, Ahmed is already invested in his changing beliefs, and his waning relationship with his mother, the growing concern of his teacher, and the manipulative relationship of his extremist mentor are all established, but the details of his change are omitted, though the questions posed by the actions of the character feel answered through Ben Addi’s compelling performance: by the way he reacts to certain people and the ways he interacts with others. While one never learns about why his parents are not together and how he ended up with his mother, the way he brushes off a comment from her about the man tells more than any exposition would.  The Dardennes are deceiving in the apparent simplicity of their camerawork, which appears to simply follow their central character with no intrusion, but the melding of camera and character movement feels even more choreographed than in previous works, sometimes heightening the mood of a particular thought or gesture for Ahmed and arguably responsible for the horrifying jump at the climax. It is tough to say if the camera is following Ahmed, or if he is struggling to remain in view of the camera.  Young Ahmed received some turbulent critiques out of Cannes, but it feels partially rooted in a knee-jerk reaction to the themes that come from the surface of its premise. But the Dardennes do not seem to be particularly interested in the broader topics of extremism and religious identity, but explore the affects that people, ideas, and beliefs can have on a youth who is experiencing uncertainty. Ahmed is able to find something tangible in the Quran, which feels necessary as his world seems quite vague. From the opening, he seems prone to finding “the answer” to things as he works on mathematical equations with his teacher, which seems to be the way he approaches religion as well as he cites specific Quran verses and grows nervous if anything impedes on his ability to pray at the proper time. The Dardennes seem to be using the specific subject to speak about universal issues that grow from Ahmed’s current frustrations and the concept of teenaged interpretation, and as they approach their usual harsh cut to black there is a sense of hope and possible peace that makes this very tense eighty minutes feel like less an exercise in stirring pots and more of a plea for empathy and understanding. September 30th, 2019