In my work, I've seen over a thousand teen films, and it's been heartening how many recent examples explore LGBTQ+ youth. Most of them (like this one) deal with family, and some (unlike this one) deal with school, but few take on concerns about religion, and none that I know of have featured gay teens within a Muslim context.
For a low-budget on-location film, there is a lot to appreciate, such as the creative cinematography and the attention to local details. Sure, the acting can be a bit clunky, and a subplot with an FBI agent is rather overblown, but the story feels real, with these young men trying to navigate their attraction to each other, the attitudes of their Muslim cohort, and their treatment by American society.
It does not cohere into a Grand Statement on young Black gay Muslim culture, which is perhaps why some people are disappointed in the ending. Rather, we see literally one day (albeit an eventful one) in which two distinctive and otherwise unseen characters face their adult future, and such a vision is worthy of your attention.
For a low-budget on-location film, there is a lot to appreciate, such as the creative cinematography and the attention to local details. Sure, the acting can be a bit clunky, and a subplot with an FBI agent is rather overblown, but the story feels real, with these young men trying to navigate their attraction to each other, the attitudes of their Muslim cohort, and their treatment by American society.
It does not cohere into a Grand Statement on young Black gay Muslim culture, which is perhaps why some people are disappointed in the ending. Rather, we see literally one day (albeit an eventful one) in which two distinctive and otherwise unseen characters face their adult future, and such a vision is worthy of your attention.