Young Ahmed

Drama/Romance

Starring: Idir Ben Addi, Olivier Bonnaud, Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen.

Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi) is a 13-year-old Muslim, whose behaviour has markedly changed over the past month as he laps up the teachings of a local imam (Othmane Moumen).

The boy professes his right to disrespect his teacher Madame Ines (Myriem Akheddiou) - "A true Muslim doesn't shake a woman's hand" - then openly scolds his mother (Claire Bodson) for not wearing a hijab and drinking alcohol.

When the imam brands Ines an apostate for suggesting students should learn Arabic from sources other than the Quran, Ahmed takes a knife from his home and prepares to stab the teacher.

Before the teenager is taken to a correctional centre, the imam instructs his protege to "be as close to Allah as this vein in your neck".

A kindly caseworker (Olivier Bonnaud) hopes to disentangle Ahmed from his hatred with outreach work on a local farm but the teenager secretly bides his time.

Shot in the verite handheld style which has

become the trademark of Belgian writerdirectors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Young Ahmed is a provocative portrait of radicalisation that plays like a slow-burning thriller.

Ominous intent tightens a knot of tension in the stomach when a farm girl (Victoria Gluck) makes the mistake of kissing Ahmed then refuses his suggestion to become a Muslim to lessen his sin.

The ending is anticlimactic and feels rushed but Addi's layered performance has us in a choke hold from the moment we see him fashioning a deadly weapon behind closed doors.

Rating: ****

RELEASED