Of Fathers and Sons

Name: Of Fathers and Sons
Genre: Documentary
Released: November 16, 2018
Duration: 99 min
Rating: 70
Cast: Abu Osama, Ayman Osama, Osama Osama

2018

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Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Kino Lorber | Release Date: November 16, 2018 | Not Rated

Starring: Abu Osama, Ayman Osama, Osama Osama

Summary: After his Sundance award-winning documentary Return to Homs, Talal Derki returned to his homeland where he gained the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses primarily on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father whose only dreamAfter his Sundance award-winning documentary Return to Homs, Talal Derki returned to his homeland where he gained the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses primarily on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father whose only dream is to establish an Islamic caliphate. Osama (13) and his brother Ayman (12) both love and admire their father and obey his words, but while Osama seems content to follow the path of Jihad, Ayman wants to go back to school. [Kino Lorber]… Expand

Director: Talal Derki

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 99 min

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Critic Reviews

Neil Young

Nov 15, 2018

An admirably audacious feat of documentarian access, Of Fathers and Sons is of obvious topical and anthropological interest as a glimpse into the gradual radicalization of young males and the deep community ties which underpin the process. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Nov 15, 2018

The result is as despairing as any portrait of close-knit family and dedicated parenthood can be, adeptly blending sensationalism with domestic intimacy, and sincerely eye-opening in its portrayal of inherited Islamist fervor. Read full review

Derek Smith

Nov 4, 2018

The film's verité approach risks humanizing Abu Osama, but we eventually gain a complex understanding of the banality of his evil. Read full review

The Film Stage Daniel Schindel

Nov 15, 2018

Of Fathers and Sons is a vital addition to the cultural picture of the Syrian conflict. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Nov 23, 2018

Watching young men become militarized is one of those gut-churning documentary topics. And yet the main subject of Of Fathers and Sons would argue that this is the only path to freedom and to happiness. The best parts of Talal Derki’s award-winning film not only seek to understand that but to reason with it. Read full review

Robert Abele

Nov 21, 2018

The nuances in Derki’s portraits are what deepen the elements that could easily have been a distancing turnoff. Read full review

Ben Kenigsberg

Nov 15, 2018

Of Fathers and Sons is ultimately more impressive for its access than it is revealing of drives or beliefs. If Derki’s goal was to capture what causes ideology to spread, he and his camera look without seeing. Read full review

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User Reviews

JLuis_001

Feb 21, 2022

It doesn't really have the access that could be considered totally profound, but what it shows is more than clear and essential.

Watching the kids being trained to become future terrorists is simply shattering and heartbreaking.

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