Breaking Fast

We have seen a few films deal with being gay and how it affects their religious beliefs, especially with Christianity, but there haven't been many films that give us an Islamic point of view on the subject. This  film tells us that religious and sexual identity is not as simple as black and white. Individuals have their own interpretations and we need to look it through the harmonious lens by which those individuals interact with the world.

Mo is a doctor and openly gay and accepted by his family. On the last day of Ramada he realizes that his 3 year long relationship with Hasan needs to come to an end since he is not out to his family and is in fact seriously contemplating marrying a girl to keep up the charade. One year has passed and Mo has completely immersed himself in work and hangs out mostly with his other gay muslim friend Sam. Its Ramadan time again and also Sam's birthday where Mo meets an al American man Kal, who occasionally speaks Arabic because of his time spent in Jordan. Initially reluctant, Mo slowly starts to warm upto Kal because they find that they genuinely share common interest and also because of the fact that Kal takes interest in his religion and teachings without passing on a judgement. Kal invites himself for iftar one day and before you know the two of them are breaking fast everyday together with Kal cooking delicacies for Mo. They slowly grow closer, learning their ways around around each other including their insecurities. A fight occurs when one night Mo tries to defend his religion but Sam tries to show him the other picture where just because his work, family and friends have worked out well for Mo, doesn't mean that problems don't exist for other muslims around the world. We eventually get to know a little bot about Kal's family history which eventually brings the two men even closer.

Lets talk about food first. There are so many gorgeous scenes and beautiful shots of food being prepared and eaten that it made me realize what a delicious 3 years of my life in Turkey were. I do miss middle eastern food a lot. And this was not just for nothing. Do not underestimate the power of food to discuss cross cultural boundaries and issues. Mo's character is interesting. He has looked at all the good and brighter things about his religion and practices them. Luckily his family is very accepting. It's only when there is the big fight with his best friend Sam, he is forced to see the uglier side of things. That scene was a very important scene for me in the film because it showed us how Mo has built a safe wall around himself to avoid get hurt, especially after breakup. He is failing to understand other people's perspective and also finally acknowledges that he could have been more patient with his ex and understand his point of view as well. I think that was a very brave statement. Kal's chaarcter was nice but needed a little more graph. I am not very sure what was the point the film was trying to make by having a dead mother and a brother in coma. Was it because of this that Kal was more empathetic to Mo? I am not sure. The film is primarily interested in exploring these tensions along lines of race, faith, class, and gender presentation that makes this a very interesting and an easy romantic film. Sam's character provides some light moments in the film and i quite enjoyed them.

Overall, the film is a well acted story of two culturally very different people who make an effort to know and trust one another and who knows, maybe they also want they same thing. (7/10)