Writer-director Imran Perretta's ISH is a beautifully made and emotionally searing coming-of-age drama, set in contemporary Luton - a shitty post-industrial town an hour north of London. I know it's shitty because I grew up near there, and it comes as no surprise to see that this multicultural town is still facing the same racially motivated policing and tug of war for the souls of its teenage boys as it did when I was growing up in the eighties.
The movie stars newcomer Farhan Hasnat as Ishmael, or Ish for short, a young teenage boy living in a multi-generational family, dealing (or not) with the death of his mum. He is at that age where, depending on when puberty hits, you can look and sound completely different from your best mate, in this case a much older-looking boy called Maram (Yahya Kitana). Where Ish is a bit naive and looks younger than his years, Maram is more cynical and world-wise. He wants to hang out with the cool older kids, and is swept up in low-level politics. Like it or not, world events now infect our country. What happens in Israel has a profound impact on our Jewish and Muslim kids. For Maram, the "opps" are the "IDF" and he feels his people are under attack.
The film is about two kids being pulled apart. Partly because Maram is maturing faster, but mostly because he is unanchored by the strong and loving family that Ish is part of. There's something really beautiful about the relationship between Ish and his grandmother, and this film gives us a depiction of a centring and positive Muslim faith that is all too rare in contemporary British media. By contrast, Maram is left to his own devices by his fierce father, and all too vulnerable to having his head turned. The motivating device of the film that really seals their separate fates comes about a third of the way through the film, when both kids are picked up by the police in a stop-and-search operation. The episode is quick and brutal and a real eye-opener for those who haven't seen one of these first hand.
It's hard to believe that this is a first-time feature directorial effort from Imran Perretta. The film feels so tightly scripted (kudos also to co-writer Enda Walsh -HUNGER) and beautifully captures the liminal nature of being a second-gen immigrant - how language and even names are slippery - and identity gets channeled through shifting patois. I also loved the monochrome lensing from DP Jermaine Canute Edwards, capturing the Luton I knew from my youth. This is a really impressive film and one that people wanting to understand contemporary Britain should watch. It would pair well with the superb BBC Three series Man Like Mobeen.
ISH has a running time of 89 minutes and played Venice. It will play the BFI London Film Festival where it is in competition for the Sutherland Trophy for debut feature directors. Both screenings are sold out.
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