The Movie: Sons of Denmark
The Director: Ulaa Salim
The Cast: Zaki Youssef, Mohammed Ismail Mohammed, Rasmus Bjerg
The Story: One year after a major bomb attack in Copenhagen radicalization around the country has intensified and ethnic tensions are running high.
The Review:
Wow, talk about an intense dive into some timely relevant story telling that gets right to the heart of racism, propaganda, and political manipulation. Set in a near future Denmark, Ulaa Salim's debut feature film expertly weaves its way through some pretty heavy material and shows some interesting perspective on how far people are willing to go to protect their beliefs, their families, their culture, and their heritage. If you think racism and oppression is an American thing, this movie shows how Denmark is just one example of what is taking place around the world.
A good portion of the movie is spent showing how Zakaria, a 19 year old Iraqi man can fall into acts of extremism when pushed to the edge by racist hate groups. Salim also introduces a man who quickly enters the political arena based on an anti-immigration agenda that breeds hate, divisiveness, and fear which, unsurprisingly given the state of modern politics, ends up being highly effective. Finally, there is Hassan, a member of the activist group that recruits Zakaria into their organization although he has a few secrets of his own that eventually lead to the story's explosive conclusion.
For this being Salim's first feature film, I was impressed with how well put together the entire production was. The editing is tight, the pacing is very efficient, and the cinematography has that gritty, cinematic quality you are looking for in a movie like this. Sons of Denmark is an entertaining thriller that isn't afraid to give a brutally honest look at one of the darker sides of humanity.
Sons of Denmark is an official selection of the 2019 Fantasia International Film Festival and the 2019 Seattle International Film Festival.
To see more reviews, interviews and festival coverage please go to:
TwoOhSix at Fantasia 2019
TwoOhSix at SIFF 2019
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