A wonderful stretch of emotions

IT IS always a daunting task to review the premiere of a movie, but New Material offers an amusing sense of wittiness, and genius script writing. New Material premiered at the Gateway Theatre Of Shopping on Thursday night.

Here is how the movie masters the art of engaging the audience from the word go until it reaches the end.

It begins with emotive family-based writing where the main character Cassim, played by Riaad Moosa, tries to balance his love for family and his stand-up comedy craft.

Cassim is a married father of one who lives with his immediate and extended family. He manages to put aside time to concentrate on his career while not risking the bond he shares with his parents, his sister as well as his wife and daughter.

Cassim and his friends, Yusuf and Hendrick, then go on a comedy roadstrip tour.

This part of the movie is incredibly predictable, a run-of-the-mill comedy where the character is faced with obstacles that jeopardise their career and relationships.

However, where the movie rescues itself is when Cassim’s religious beliefs are the focal point – he is given an opportunity to do a comedy special in Canada, sponsored by a whisky company. A Muslim, Cassim then appears in a newspaper alongside the alcohol company, which he is confronted about by his disapproving father, Ebrahim.

In that moment of reflection, Ebrahim suffers a heart attack. As a result, the most prolific tear-drawing moment in the movie is birthed. Cassim recites Surah al Yasin (the heart of the Qur’an) to his father in hospital as he promises to not abandon his family, community and mostly his father who is frail.

This scene is a poignant use of cinematic language that was apparent in the first version of the movie, Material. The movie does this wonderful stretch of emotions, where it begins jovial, transcends into introspection and growth, and then finally ends in a light-hearted mood of reconciliation.

New Material is a great success in converging comedy, family-orientedness and community which resonated with attendees of the premiere. It is a must watch!