KavehTehrani'scoming-of-agefilmisanadaptationofGulraizSharif's2020novel,depictingtheincreasinglycomplexsummervacationof15-year-oldMahmoud.NotonlydoesasociableunclefromPakistanvisit,butMahmoudmustalsonavigatethefamilycrisisthatunfoldswhenhislittlebrotherAlihasasecretthatturnstheirwholeworldupsidedown.
Itdoesn'ttakelongforthefilmtosetthetone:Theprotagonist,Mahmoud,almostimmediatelybreaksthefourthwall,seamlesslytakingontheroleofthenarrator.Thefilmdoesn'tlookback:itbrimswithtechniquesanddevicesthatinjectenergyintothenarrativeandprovideaframeworkforthethemes,takingusundertheskinofwhatturnsouttobeapoignant,thought-provokingfamilydrama–allwrappedintheattractiveguiseofcomedy.
QuestionsaboutidentityandbelonginginNorwegiansociety(forbothyoungandoldercharacters)withinamulticulturalfamilyfromOslobecomethecentraldrivingforce.TheadaptationofGulraizSharif'sbookissolidlydirectedbydebutfilmmakerKavehTehrani.Whilethefilmaimstomaintainitsentertainmentvalue,italsocarriesasharppoliticaledge–directedequallyagainstsociety'srigidclassstructuresandconservativefamilytraditions.Thetalentedchildactorsintheleadrolescarrytheheartofthefilmontheirshoulders,ensuringthatfewleavethetheateruntouchedintheend.