Ain't It Cool News (www.aintitcool.com)
Review
Harry says that FOUR LIONS may not be as iconic as DR STRANGELOVE, but it is cut from the same satiric cloth!
I'm not real sure what I thought I was seeing with FOUR LIONS. I think in some ways I was expecting something more cartoonish, perhaps even bloody. What I wasn't expecting was the most biting satire that I've seen since DR STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB. In fact, in someways this could be called, FOUR LIONS OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LAUGH AT AL QAEDA. I mean, think about the terrorist attempts since 9/11. We've had the vaunted Shoe Bomber and the Exploding Underwear Man as the biggest headlines. But FOUR LIONS deconstructs the Terrorist Cell in the same way, in the very same kind of political and societal climate, as Kubrick faced when he deconstructed the far more epic Cold War with DR STRANGELOVE... and to similar ends. It made one laugh at the notion of the level of madness that would be necessary to actually cause Global Annihilation of the entire of humanity. Here... it has been scaled down to some fairly incompetent, ill educated glory hunting pissed off jihadists from London. For some reason I thought I was going to be seeing a mockumentary, so when I found myself watching a more traditionally made movie, I was instantly delighted. This is a superior film. So superior that it dares to make us imagine just how insanely incompetent someone must be to intentionally blow themselves up. I get these guys. They're not Snidely Whiplash. They're a different sort. They have a sort of taste for things. They have music, their car has issues. They basically unhappy with life, but they have senses of humor, but basically, they're all pretty weak people. They have plenty of reasons to be pissed off, and no real reason to live. They feel, the best reason to live, is to die with many. And somehow, that's they're notion of being a badass, being a man. Ya know, the chicken shit way out. Now, I'm not entirely sure why I was expecting a truly absurdly goofy film, that is here. Don't get me wrong, this is a very funny movie for most of the movie, but we are talking about a story about Suicide Bombers. Even if we hate what they stand for, even if it is the darkest of subject matter... these are still human beings that we're spending time with. They're all sorts of stupid, but they're stupidity is in a weird kind of way... endearing. Sure they spout some pretty hateful and absurdly stupid things... and as a result, we laugh. But in the end, you can be quite a bit surprised how you'll react. This cell is made up of a motivated leader, with a wife and kid. He adapts the story of THE LION KING to his own perverse way of thinking, to prepare his son for his own death. He doesn't outwardly say that, but it is obvious that that's what he's up to. Omar's belief is that his sacrifice will make his son a better, safer man. That it could change things. But he's incredibly deluded. He surrounds himself with friends that all either just listen to him, or the other friend / slash competitor for being the leader of their little cell. This is BARRY, played by Nigel Lindsay. He's the white Angry British Muslim, and you really get the idea he's in this for the fucking badass commitment to ruling in the hereafter. He's about causing Armageddon. He wants to be the biggest badass he could be. His plans are the most radical. The most hardcore. He's a suicide bomber because, well... He's THAT committed. Never mind the fact that he's a fucking dumbshit. The sort of guy that would seriously believe that if you just constantly shook your head, that your face will be blurry on the Video Cameras throughout London. So whenever you do anything incriminating, shake your face about violently. But it isn't that he believes this, it is more like he loves to make those more gullible than him, kinda make an ass out of themselves. He's kind of a piece of shit, in a funny kind of way. Then you have Waj, played by Kayvan Novak. He's kind of the dumb friend that you could talk into anything. He's a follower in the friend dynamic. And he's kind of the one you're rooting for. He has a perfect character arc to inflict the most... "OH FUCK" on ya. Because, he's just so densely naive. You just sort of feel for him. Oh sure, he's the dumb fuck talked into blowing himself up for something he doesn't completely understand, but fuck it, his friends are doing it. They make it sound like a good deal. I mean really, the afterlife of a martyr sounds really kinda good... if you're this dumb. But in some ways, he's the smartest one, because he does ask questions. The other three are all about the plan. Waj, he makes with the confused face. The last member of the titular group of Lions is Hassan. He's the newest member of the collective. But by no means, the last character. You see there are other dumb fucks, that get picked off by various acts of stupidity... that comes with not quite knowing how to create high explosives out of household goods. It's a careful process. And a scary one. But, well I was talking about Hassan. He's a young pissed off Islamic kid that is tired of being treated like a terrorist, so what the fuck, if the world treats him like one, why shouldn't he be one. Of the 4, the one I'm most surprised is a terrorist is Omar, as played by Riz. He's got a good job, he has the wife, he has the family. He's lost family, he believes in the cause, but almost seems smarter than that. He is a true believer, but the absurdity of its purpose escapes him. It just seems to be his life/death path. He's resolved to it. So often in films, we see terrorists that are smart... with master plans and the most brilliant of nefarious plans. But what about the shoe bomber. What about exploding diaper man? How genius were they? Might they have put a bomb on a semi-trained raven? It's possible. I suppose. I once saw this brilliant film called THE TERRORIST by Santosh Sivan of the terrorist situation in India. It was not funny. And in many ways, I consider it this film's FAILSAFE. It presented a different perspective on the suicide bomber... but I have to say... it wasn't nearly as funny or entertaining, but I have to say... FOUR LIONS feels equally true. I mean, these Jihadists are actually great heroes of the West... but then that is Omar's dirty secret. Well, Omar & Maj. I seriously have no idea why this film didn't get picked up domestically before Tim League of the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE had to create a distribution company just to distribute it, but man. Here in Austin, they're gonna make some serious money with this thing. The audience was laughing throughout and enjoyed the hell of it. It is incredibly smartly written. I mean, it isn't easy to create likably stupid, but believably human suicide bombers - that not only invite one to see the inherent absurd "What the fuck" of being some one who will die by self-inflicted & possibly accidental detonation. At the same time that you can't help but laugh at what these guys say & believe... one could choose to not laugh once and to sadly realize... this could be closer to the truth more often than not. That what they're doing is pointless... that it is truly absurd how fucked up it is that they gauge of success, kind of absurdly makes you wish they could have died for something bigger or more worthy of our like of these characters and that ultimately this is their purpose. To entertain us on their journey to annihilation. But that, in and of itself is the joke of it all. People will die. That is assured, but how and when and why... That's the "fun" of the film. This film picked up quite a devoted following overseas, I just hope it picks up success over here. I really feel it is something that John Stewart or Steven Colbert would love to feature on their shows, because this is exactly THAT kind of satire. This is really really great. Just the notion that in all likelihood you might not know exactly when it'll be playing in your city, after all, DRAFTHOUSE FILMS is a startup company - here's where & when it opens in the U.S.
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