Plot
Two teenage brothers must face their prejudices head on if they are to survive the perils of being young, British Arabs on the streets of gangland London.
Release Year: 2012
Rating: 6.5/10 (348 voted)
Director:Sally El Hosaini
Storyline
Mo is a young boy growing up in a traditional Egyptian household, but beyond the front door of the family's modest London flat is a completely different world - the streets of Hackney. The impressionable Mo idolizes his handsome older brother Rashid and wants to follow is his footsteps. However, Rashid, a charismatic and shrewd member of a local gang, wants a different life for his little brother and deals drugs hoping to put Mo through college. One eventful summer, Rashid's sexual awakening forces Mo to confront his own fears and phobias and threatens to tear the brothers apart.
This was a real highlight at Sundance, an incredible movie, has all the
grittiness a street film should have, but with real heart. The story is
familiar, but Sally El Hosaini's script keeps it fresh by introducing
unexpected twists that keep you wanting to find out what's coming next.
Without giving any of those twists away, this is basically a film about
two brothers and how their relationship changes as the younger one who
has always looked up to the elder grows disenchanted with him, while
trying to define himself as a man (which he isn't quite yet). Setting
that story in the midst of London gang life pushes the poignancy of the
story with great effect. Beautiful cinematography by David Raedeker and
the outstanding acting of James Floyd and Fady Elsayed make this a real
treat.
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