Torn (I) (2013) User Reviews

Deep thoughtful movie. Well played, and the story will keep you interested.

[face-819-933726 · 7/10 · 2 February 2014]

Yeah they are all torn, and pulled from their safe places, and no one will be sure what to believe anymore. No better mystery, than one allowed to unfold on it's own. This is a deeply emotional story, and you will be torn along with the players as the blame bounces from Son, to Son. The acting is great, and the film making is very good for the equipment that would have been used. There is very clear direction, and the story as I mentioned is deep, and winding. I personally did not just fall into this movie, I found it rough, and difficult to watch at first, but then the Mothers both won me over with the full force of rumors tearing at them each in turn. I did end up Enjoying this movie, and I would recommend this one, it is unpolished, but for a lover of true feeling, and good drama this could be a big win. If you are in need of a big movie fix, this is not it, but it is a nice little movie.

Jesse of www.Jesse.ca

Well intentioned and sweet but flawed.

[smiledaydream · 6/10 · 21 June 2022]

This movie is very well intentioned. I did find it formulaic. Some main characters are undeveloped having lines to say but no character beyond those few lines. Much of the dialogue so obvious it's not a movie you can escape into. A manager has an absurd conversation with an employee that is completely outside of common practice. Police do a bad local cop search in a FBI level bombing investigation. Someone needed to do a lot more work and study to make this movie and it's really worth making again with better research and a better script. Five minutes each on Wikipedia would give you all the depth covered of an important school social matter and a religion. The ending has the same problems and conflicts with other facts in the storyline even though it is affectionate. I'm still glad I saw the movie so if you want to see something on the subject it is worth the time. It's just definitely not award-winning. 6/10 for the love and intentions.

A film with an intensely emotional topic

[peterp-450-298716 · 7/10 · 15 September 2014]

"I have a bomb and a Pakistani kid, so I'm sure you can appreciate where we'll have to go with this"

"Torn" manages to shake off the label "TV Movie", thanks to the wonderful performances of the two female protagonists Mahnoor Baloch (Maryam) and Dendrie Taylor (Lea), two mothers who slowly grow closer to each other and support each other in their grief after the loss of their two sons, Walter and Eddie. The two teenage boys were killed in a blast that took place in a shopping mall. In the first place the explosion was due to a gas leak. Afterwards the accusations start which leads to resentment, anger and blaming each other. The film title can be interpreted in different ways. Is it about the wrenching feelings of sadness ? Or is it about the breaking up of an accidentally formed friendship ? Or is it about the torn bodies of the victims after the bombing?

Their friendship was put to a test by the fact that the alleged gas leak apparently wasn't the cause of the explosion. An FBI investigation was started because there were indications that it could be a terrorist attack. First Walter could be the culprit. On the one hand his Muslim Pakistani origin and on the other hand an incident where he fought with some other students after they used some racist statements, made sure he was placed on the list of suspects. The fact that his father Ali (Faran Tahir), was suspected as an accomplice in the attacks on the Twin Towers (this was refuted afterwards) is an additional factor. Eddie also appears to be one of the suspects since he expressed death threats against some students who bullied him all the time. After the bombing, the group of bullies was severely decimated, so Eddie came in sight of the FBI.

"Torn" is not a spectacle. Don't expect spectacular action moments with devastating explosions and victims flying around with severed limbs as a result. It's rather the explosive interaction between two cultures and the subtle way the racism and prejudices are shown. "Torn" manages to cram the tense issues like bullying among youth, racism and terrorism in a single film without using visual masterpieces. But although this was omitted, it remains a 80-minute short film which is interesting and fascinating to watch. Also it shows how the media in an indiscriminate manner draws conclusions and the resulting publications are the cause that the personal lives of individuals are ruined.

As mentioned before, the biggest part of acting is seized by the two female actresses. Mahnoor Balach is a Pakistani beauty with an engaging personality who charms you while performing on the screen. A gentle person with an endearing English with that well-known Pakistani accent. Dendrie Taylor didn't really rang a bell. Yet I had recently seen her twice in another movie without knowing it. She was Degroat's date in "Out of the furnace" and Lillian Disney in "Saving Mr. Banks". I really couldn't recognize her in this last movie. In this film she just needs to show her face which is loaded with emotions. It speaks volumes. The face of a single woman working as a cleaning-lady in the evenings, probably a poorly paid job, who must provide for the education of her teenage son. A hardworking woman who apparently isn't on good terms with her ex who doesn't bother about his son's education.

So the focus is on the relationship between these two women and the way they deal with their grief and loss, the breach of confidence that develops and eventually the growing back to each other. It has also a wonderful closures which is an indictment against the phenomenon of "prejudice" and once again proves that not everything is as it seems. A film that fits perfectly with the movie "The Citizen" that raises the same problems. "Torn" is a film with two beautiful interpretations. A film with an intensely emotional topic without turning into a corny tearjerker.

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[transient-2 · 9/10 · 23 March 2014]

This film establishes characters and follows their emotional vacillations in such a conscientious, thorough manner that its compassion becomes powerful. It's neither formulaic nor lazy, and offers a refreshing lack of cynicism, even granting some noble courage to characters who might not in reality be so graceful.

Neither angry nor pretentious, the film also never struggles to be more than what it is: a pleasantly optimistic, hopeful depiction of how people might heal under the weight of distraction following a tragedy.

The performances are excellent, and help to make the film very engrossing.

Emotional, moving, honest movie.

[b-l-ludwigs · 9/10 · 9 February 2014]

In a town in the USA two families share the same harsh fate. But they are from two different cultures, and the movie revolve around this subject. How do they cope, and how do their surroundings respond to them. Sounds boring huh? Let me try again, this movie is excruciating honest, and it will leave you with a feeling of shame. If you're a parent, watch this movie. If you think Muslims from the middle east all are evil, except from the 2 you know personally, watch this movie. If you are young in The States, and got this movie on your to see list, imagine that the two main chars, instead of being left alone to deal with their tragedy, would have gotten professional help from the government.

I cant help wonder how this movie got a score of 5,4. Perhaps the reason for setting a low score, could be that the movie gives a nuanced view upon Muslims and how we/the media treat them.

Fear and Faith

[itsvidi · 10/10 · 1 February 2014]

Just started to watch this movie in Pakistan, to see how Mahnoor Baloch acted. But after sometime script was all over my mind. At the end, I was feeling bit low about our thoughts and assumptions.

That's what we are. We just believe on whatever our media and govt projects. Even the investigations are more focused to make suspects if you don't have any. Movie also reflects how incomplete facts always hurt peoples, cultures, families and even nation's behavior towards each other.

I feel the movie was cut short for the sake of time. It could have been in more detail. If you are planning to watch a serious movie with a good ending. You must watch it.

Seriously underrated here. Sad.

[lngwstx · 10/10 · 6 May 2018]

A movie doesn't need to be all adrenaline and witty dialogue to be seriously good. I'm disappointed with these other reviews. They're just wrong. The acting is adequate, if unremarkable, but the acting is not the point. This is a well-written, thoughtful film with no throwaway scenery. Everything is meaningful without being obvious.

This movie explores two kinds of terrorism (well, three or four, actually): the kind we name and wage wars against, and the kind(s) we excuse and justify. It manages to weave the narrative together with very little dialogue or action. Just little snippets that give insight into the motivations and prejudices of people, most of whom ought to know better. It manages to show relentlessly bullied youth and radicalized Muslim youth in the same light, which is a fair comparison when you consider that both can lead to the exact same kinds of terror (acts of mass murder).

The film's message is subtly delivered. It's a quiet, introspective film, and that's its power. It insists that you examine your own assumptions and sit uncomfortably with the comparisons it offers. It delivers a satisfying ending (in my opinion) which doesn't leave anyone free to justify their biases. It is also bittersweet, because



SPOILER

it seems nobody left behind will ever know what really happened, or, heartbreakingly, that the boys were not the monsters people needed them to have become. The actual culprit is never seen onscreen beyond an ambiguously-colored hand dropping off a backpack, which is the perfect solution to the plot's efforts at peeling open assumptions and leaving them to air out.

Great Movie

[laithadam · 10/10 · 28 February 2020]

Emotional, entertaining and real. Shows how Muslim Americans are unfairly profiled even though both families are dealing with the same loss.