Le jeune Ahmed (2019)

Directed by: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne | 84 minutes | drama | Actors: Idir Ben Addi, Olivier Bonnaud, Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen, Amine Hamidou, Yassine Tarsimi, Cyra Lassman, Karim Chihab, Nadège Ouedraogo, Frnak Onana, Laurent Caron, Annette Closset

‘Le jeune Ahmed’ by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne is about thirteen-year-old Ahmed. Until recently, he was an average teenager, spending too much time playing video games and being tutored in a homework tutoring class as a result. But since a few months the boy has changed. He regularly visits the mosque, does not miss a prayer and his console has given way to the Koran. His mother watches this turnaround with sorrow. His homework supervisor, Miss Inès, hardly recognizes her student anymore.

The Dardennes reveal little about Ahmed’s background. We fall in the middle of the story. Father is absent from the family, he has a sister who behaves way too Western (Ahmed makes angry comments about her choice of clothing) and an older brother who loves football, but also wants to remain true to his faith. Ahmed’s mother is of Belgian descent and seems to her sadness to lose the loving connection with her son.

When the imam expresses his views on Miss Inès’ plans to teach the students Arabic through modern song lyrics, Ahmed takes it upon himself to reinforce his faith. He proceeds to an ill-considered action, with the result that he ends up in a juvenile detention center. If you think that’s the end of it, you’re wrong. Ahmed has no intention of returning to his old life.

‘Le jeune Ahmed’ records the events calmly and without forming a judgement. No shot is superfluous, the editing is tight and the playing time is quite short at 84 minutes. It is difficult to sympathize with the main character, but the film remains fascinating, because you have no idea what Ahmed bases his choices on. This unpredictability makes the film realistic and urgent. Will there come a time when he breaks?

It helps that the young actor is convincing in every scene. Almost emotionless he undergoes what is happening to him; he calls his mother from the institution, who can’t really call at that moment, he responds coolly to her request to call back later. “I’ll see you on Sunday.” The ending feels unfinished, so ‘Le jeune Ahmed’ has less impact than you’d hope.