Rebel

The French prove once again that they are the king of European filmmaking with the Poles. Allah Akbar! A crazy insight into ISIS with all the bad that goes with it. The main character travels to Syria but is involuntarily forced to fight for ISIS and certainly doesn't have a nice time there. There are executions, the purchase of a wife through an auction, wounded children, torture, the radicalization of young children and recruits to the Caliphate, and the mandatory realistic one-shot war action set-piece. Definitely a force to be reckoned with. We have two storylines, where in the first one the protagonist is trying to survive and has to follow unpleasant orders, like sometimes mercilessly execute someone on camera. We follow the relationship with his newly bought wife portrayed quite engagingly and unconventionally. I like that the film is shot from the other side, so the unpleasant atmosphere is almost always in the air and danger lurks at every turn – every little thing and mistake here can cost someone their life. In the second storyline we follow the main character's little brother in Belgium who is being radicalised by one of the local ISIS members – brainwashing children, they could do that. The mother is desperate and feels she is slowly losing her son. The atmosphere is cramped, the music is excellent and the emotions work. An uncomfortable and, in short, good film on a rewarding subject. There's not much action in the end, but the film holds your attention constantly. 8/10. (06.06.2023)

INCREDIBLE!!! This film is indescribable, it has to be seen. There are films you laugh at and there are films you cheer at, but this is from a different barrel altogether and is pure two hour unmitigated hell highlighting real events and the recruitment of ISIS members from the ranks of ordinary people in countries like France and Belgium. And it does have something to show - because it's all there. The film focuses on a guy who is recruited by ISIS under duress in Syria and has no choice but to join them. It portrays with absolute precision the feelings of the forcibly recruited members who have to play both sides, describing the hierarchy in their society and the sheer defencelessness of mere pawns. The visuals are uncompromising and all the attacks of the Islamic State are literally filmed live, as if the viewer was there and flying around the battlefield with them, and I take my hat off for that, as I simply have no idea how this was filmed so convincingly, raw and brutal. Equally insane is the showing of "recruiters" in major world cities who draw young children into their net and lure them to ISIS under the guise of "paradise", where the 12 year olds only soon discover that they are supposed to be young soldiers. It in terms of acting, it’s a convincing gem, visually flawless, and lest I forget, the soundtrack is fantastic, especially the "rap art clips" incorporated into the film are such bangers that only add to the intensity and overall feel of the film. For me, the biggest terror in recent years from a similar theme and an incredibly suffocating film that the Rajahs have made with absolutely no inhibitions or embellishments around it, just pure evil, where beheadings are the order of the day. I still don't understand how the names behind mainstream films like Bad Boys For Life, could have created such a work of art that no genre film can match, even Caliphate looks like a kid’s comedy next to it. I'll definitely watch this again. (07.06.2023)