Director: Amjad Abu Alala
Writer: Amjad Abu Alala, Youssef Ibrahim
Stars: Mustafa Shehata, Islam Mubarak, Mahmoud Elsaraj
Synopsis: The holy man of a remote village predicts that a newborn boy will die when he becomes 20 years old.
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You Will Die at 20 seems to be made to make history and break barriers. Amjad Abu Alala’s directorial debut is only the eighth film in the history of Sudanese cinema, and it has just become Sudan’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, co-produced by Sudan, Egypt, France, Germany, and Qatar, the film has made a big step forward in bringing fresh Sudanese voices to the big screen.
The film follows Muzamil (Mustafa Shehata), who is taken by his mother to a blessing ceremony days after birth. Instead of blessing the newborn child, the village’s holy man prophesies that he will die when he turns 20. Shortly after, his father leaves the country to make more money, leaving the burden of raising Muzamil to his mother Sakina (Islam Mubarak).
Right out of the gate, You Will Die at 20 has powerful elements working in its favor, mainly the ideal first act and the terrific acting performances. The first act of the film, which follows Muzamil as a young boy dealing with the ramification of his prophecy and his mother’s overprotection, gives the film a strong opening and puts you in the character’s mind immediately, and it is wonderfully done. The acting performances are solid across the board, especially coming from mostly a first time acting cast. I have to mention here Islam Mubarak (Sakina), who is excellent in portraying the agony of a mother that will do anything to save her child, and she by far gives the best performance of the film.
You Will Die at 20’s exploration of its central question comes after the introduction of Sulaiman (Mahmoud Elsaraj), who returns to the village after traveling around the world and doesn’t believe in Muzamil’s prophecy. A non-believer who drinks and doesn’t follow traditions, Sulaiman is positioned as the opposite of Muzamil’s character. After Muzamil forcibly spends time with Sulaiman, he fills in the blanks in Muzamil’s world.
Muzamil is then faced with the ultimate question, what path will you choose if you know certain death is coming for you? Will you follow traditions and pray and wait for your fate, or will you break them and enjoy life as much as you can before you die? The film smartly doesn’t give a straight answer, but it laybacks and puts everything on the screen for the viewer to decide.
But I found that the film’s most impressive achievement was that it succeeded in conveying the feeling of living under imminent doom waiting to fall so well. Muzamil and his mother live in a constant state of anticipation of his death. This makes them practically dead people walking. The continuous smell of melancholia in the air of an environment soaked with sunlight and heat paints a beautiful portrait of Muzamil and Sakaina’s desperation.
The film suffers from pacing issues, especially in the middle section after Sulaiman’s introduction; there are multiple repetitive scenes that all lead to the same point. Some of them should’ve been left on the cutting room floor and made more room for the rushed ending. Sometimes Amjad Abu Alala’s direction leans in the territory of higher visual aesthetic, which doesn’t serve the film’s narrative most of the time.
In the end, Amjad Abu Alala’s directorial debut might not be the next Parasite. But it does have an excellent premise that it doesn’t utilize its full potential, but it makes for an intriguing experience that will leave you pleased but not satisfied.
You Will Die at 20 Oscars prospects are limited but not absent. Given that the Best International Feature Film doesn’t have more than three clear frontrunners yet, the film might be able to squeeze in the last minute. But Oscars or not, this is a clear win and step in the right direction for the Sudanese cinema, which I’ll be eagerly waiting to see more from very soon.
