“Boy From Heaven” Review!

Writer and director: Tariq Saleh

Writer and director Tariq Saleh's "Boy from Heaven" is a convention thriller that explores the entanglement of modern Egypt. Director Saleh focuses on the treacherous connection between religion and politics, establishing his conspiracy at the Al-Azhar Mosque and University in Cairo, the home of the Great Imam, Egypt's highest Muslim leader and world leader in the teaching of Sunni Islam. Institutions and an important component of Egyptian society for many centuries. Al-Azhar's Lockdown Universe, with its internal power struggles, stabbings, and backdoor deals, is essentially a secret spy film, worn on the thumbs of prayer.

Director Saleh's screenplay hits at every convention of the distillery subdivision after the spy thriller formula. The direction is more or less followed by a non-suite action sequence in the calm, harsh and measured atmosphere of the mosque complex. Yet the background and even the socio-political and religious background give it a new angle. Al-Azhar in Cairo is not just a mosque. For those who want to study Islam at a higher level, it doubles as Harvard, the most famous Islamic institution in the country. When the current Grand Imam dies we leave the next leader in the air and enter the movie.

Adam Tala (Taufeek Barhom) is a far from an orthodox spy. This young man is gentle and soft-spoken, looking at the ground with more fear than talking to a sheik, a colleague, or a maid. He was born in a small fishing town that might be off the map. Her hands are thin, and there is a calm sadness on her face. Dreams of the following Sheikhdom remain in his head until they become a reality, and he sets out for al-Azhar, where he reveals that he has some detective traits, unwavering devotion, fearlessness, and tough skin. After all, he is a spy.

Within weeks of arriving at the school, Adam witnesses the murder of his only friend, who is then thrown into the trap of power, politics, espionage, and deception. Adam, a pawn in a high-level partnership game between Al-Azhar's top sheikhs and the Egyptian government, recruits Colonel Ibrahim (Fares Fares) of State Security against his will as the country's only al-Azhar informant. On the subtle side of the characterization, Ibrahim is up against a state security colonel because Adam is a spy. Ibrahim is a dull, disorganized middle-aged man with an everyday leather jacket, screaming, "Trust me, I'm calm." He is chewed up by his junior superior, and he is not very good at obeying the orders of his subordinate Adam.

The relationship between Adam and Ibrahim is similar to that of Leketh Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Judas, and the Black Messiah. The state has a vested interest in rigging the election of the Grand Imam but has no authority to do so. The election of a new Grand Imam is a lengthy, thought-provoking, and closed process involving only the Supreme Council of Shaikhs in al-Azhar, similar to the election of a new pope by a cardinal. But a new Grand Imam who does not sleep with the government will give the country's corrupt officials a lame headache, so they turn to their newly discovered cornerstone, Adam, the captive man. Expect nothing.

It is safe to assume that almost everyone will tremble at the weight of that condition. Adam was a staunch orthodox Muslim and a follower of the rule of law. Moreover, the nature of his work raises al-Azhar's hidden jihadist minority from the shadows and places them in their company. Director Saleh's references to theology, dharma, and positions of authority are interchangeable. He weaves together Marxist quotations and Qur'anic texts in a silent conversation about mankind's historical and magnetic reaction to religion in the unknown. He exercises restraint in the impossible situation of Adam and does not take a firm theological or philosophical stand.

"Boy from Heaven" has a few flaws, the most serious being the lack of creativity in designing the mosque that was built and which is not really al-Azhar, as Saleh called it from Egypt after his last film. It was a critique of the government. Despite struggling with some pacing issues, it is a compelling and well-presented play that offers a compelling perspective on an institution that is uniquely compatible with the Vatican.

Please watch the trailer: