Malik (2017)

Directed by: Shady El-Hamus | 44 minutes | action, adventure, crime, drama | Actors: Sam Louwyck, Reinout Scholten van Aschat, Bilal Wahib, Sabri Saad El-Hamus, Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito, Jochum ten Haaf, Lukas Dijkema

The Netherlands is bursting with film talent. Thanks to projects such as ‘One Night Stand’, which is annually initiated by the broadcasters NTR, VARA and VPRO, and the NPO-Fonds, CoBo and the Film Fund, promising filmmakers have an opportunity to show a large audience what they can do. to have. Every year, six new films of approximately 45 minutes each are broadcast by the NPO. Starting next year, the series will be replaced by ‘Centraal’, a drama series consisting of six 45-minute episodes that are connected via one location: Rotterdam Central Station. In 2017, however, the chosen filmmakers are still free to choose their locations themselves. The third film in this year’s series is ‘Malik’ (2017) by director Shady El-Hamus (1988), son of the Dutch-Egyptian actor Sabri Saad El-Hamus, known for his roles in Martin Koolhoven’s ‘Het Schnitzelparadijs’ (2005) and ‘n Little love’ from 2006, the award-winning TV film ‘Offers’ (2005) and television series such as “Levenslied” and “Lijn 32”. Shady graduated as a screenwriter/director from the Netherlands Film Academy in 2012 and has already won high marks with his graduation films ‘Magnesium’ and ‘Over zonen’. The latter film also ensured that Shady was accepted for a prestigious two-year advanced course at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England. He also successfully completed that training. ‘Malik’ is one of three (short) films that Shady released in 2017; the others are ‘Nightshade’ and ‘Existence is gone’.

At first glance, the two main characters in the exciting road movie ‘Malik’ couldn’t be more different from each other. Ben (Flemish Sam Louwyck) is a mid-fifties whose farm is on the run. He would have liked to see his son Simon (Reinout Scholten van Aschat) take over from him, but at the last minute he decided to move to the city. Simon has come up with a final rescue plan, but his father is too proud to accept his help. Moreover, he feels betrayed by Simon. And then there’s eighteen-year-old Amir (Bilal Wahib), a boy who has encountered the law far too many times in his young life. He has a bad relationship with his father (Sabri Saad El-Hamus), who has always put Amir’s older brother Malik on a pedestal. Where his father hoped that Amir would become more like his almost perfect brother, he became recalcitrant and ended up in juvenile detention. After years of imprisonment, Amir discovers that his brother is terminally ill. The family is waiting for a donor heart, but the waiting list is long and Malik doesn’t have much time left. Amir, who no longer sees any future prospects for himself, devises a plan to give his life some meaning: he wants to give his own life for that of his brother, and through an uncle he tries to arrange an illegal heart transplant. As soon as he sees a chance, he escapes from juvenile detention. He wants to go to his brother as soon as possible. It is at this point that Amir and Ben’s paths intersect; Amir takes Ben hostage so he can drive him to his childhood home. Although it is not gentle at first, the two eventually grow towards each other.

The screenplay was written by Oscar van Woensel, who was responsible for, among other things, the fourth season of the hit series “Penoza”. ‘Malik’ underlines once again that we as humans should not focus on our differences, but on our similarities. Both characters – the worked up and tormented Amir versus the subdued and exhausted Ben – harbor the pain and frustration of a failed father-son relationship. By slowly but surely taking care of Amir, Ben wakes up the father who is hidden somewhere deep inside him. He also feels ‘needed’ again, because by acting as a confidant for this boy in need, he can somewhat ‘make up for’ the mistakes he made in the past with his own son. ‘Malik’ draws you directly into the world of its two main characters from the first minute. And thanks to strong acting by both Sam Louwyck and Bilal Wahib, you will remain captivated; how does this end? At the same time, the film manages to hold up a mirror to its audience, just as the characters do to each other. People often differ less from each other than you think. To what extent are we guided by stereotypes and clichés? ‘Malik’ ends heartbreakingly; the final chord shows that Shady El-Hamus does not just succumb to the most desirable and audience-friendly outcome. As it almost never ends in life like in an average Hollywood movie. ‘Malik’ is exciting, moving and uncompromising. A strong example of what filmmaker Shady El-Hamus has to offer!