Son of A Lion
Dir. Benjamin Gilmour, feat Niaz Khan Shinwari, Sher Alam Miskeen Ustad (PG)
By Brooke Salisbury
Benjamin Gilmour taps into the reality of Pakistani civilian life in his debut directional effort, Son of A Lion. Digging deep into the traditions and obligations of families and real people who literally feed off gun culture, the film opens with a father and his son shooting bullets across the arid desert. The temperamental dad teaches his shy boy to operate various rifles.
Sher Alam Afridi and his son Niaz live on the North-West Frontier of Pakistan. The widowed Sher Alam runs a tight workshop making weapons and his 11-year-old son is his heir. As Niaz grows older he becomes painfully aware of his illiteracy and dreams of reading the letters his family send to him. Shy and despondent, he asks his father's permission to attend school though he's met with disappointment. Eventually, Niaz questions his father's values in the face of his future.
The film's credibility is in its simple and solid moral sentiments, echoed constantly throughout the bulletproof script. There are a few genuinely funny moments as men shoot the breeze over tea and hashish, which breaks down the steel beard and turban stereotype. A completely non-professional cast of actors play convincing roles undoubtedly close to their own situations. Gilmour and Co go beyond Pakistan's physical landscape to give a humane voice to the people of the country. The film rouses thought and opens doors on a noble and earnest working life where violence and education are the two paths of travel.
Read Time Out's interview with Benjamin Gilmour, director of Son of a Lion