Violence and drug dealing are part of everyday life for London street gangs in the film "My Brother the Devil". As a gay man, however, you have a serious problem.
Rashid is actually a good guy. He is a reliable and caring friend to his mates in the dreary London borough of Hackney, which is characterised by social housing. He secretly slips a few notes into his warm-hearted mum's wallet to help her make ends meet. But above all, Rashid keeps a watchful eye on his little brother, 14-year-old Mo (Fady Elsayed). He is supposed to make the leap: out of this neighbourhood and into a better life.
Rashid wants to pay for him to go to college and later to study, and one day to finally buy his family, who have immigrated from Egypt, a larger flat. Until then, the brothers sleep in the bunk bed they share in their cramped room. Basically, Rashid (James Floyd) has his heart in the right place. The only thing he doesn't care about is getting a proper job - much to his father's annoyance. No wonder: "I earn more in a week than my father does in a whole month."
Good in business
Rashid is a dealer. He does good business in the neighbourhood with his clique of Arab origin. Until one day his best friend is stabbed to death in a gang war, an experience that turns Rashid's identity completely upside down. In "My Brother the Devil" (to be shown nationwide in February in the "Mongay" cinema series and then available on DVD), filmmaker Sally El Hosaini uses familiar genre set pieces to tell the story of how the spiral of violence continues unabated and the twists and turns that throw Mo's life off course.
The special quality of this debut film by the French-Moroccan director is due to the two convincing lead actors, the meticulously researched setting of the story and the authentic characters. The other main characters are just as ambivalent as Rashid. They all end up in a tailspin: through the different expectations of their families and friend cliques, through their lives between cultures and social affiliations - as Arabs, immigrants, Brits, Muslims, gays or criminals.
The newly discovered desire
Rashid suffers extremely difficult inner struggles until he is able to admit his love for the photographer Sayyid (Saïd Taghmaoui). As a devout Muslim, his newly discovered desire plunges him into a deep crisis. For Mo, on the other hand, who discovers this secret by chance, it shatters the image of his previously idolised brother. Involuntarily, he makes him the target of a homophobic hunt, and the smouldering conflicts escalate. Director El Hosaini leaves it entirely up to the viewer to decide which of the two is the titular diabolical brother. However, it may not be quite so easy.
"My Brother the Devil" (GB 2012), directed by Sally El Hosaini. With James Floyd, Saïd Taghmaoui, Nasser Memarzi, Fady Elsayed. 112 minutes. On DVD, Blu-Ray (Edel) and VoD from 25 April in stores, available to rent from 10 April.
Link to the trailer (in English original version)
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