How to turn away from his religious fanaticism, a young man who fell into radical Islam? This is the thorny question at the heart of the Young Ahmed . The film of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, presented in competition at the Cannes film Festival on Monday, follows a 13 year old boy (Idir Ben Addi) under the influence of an imam bigot and malicious (Othmane Moumen). The ideals of purity of the speaker, turned the pre-teen zealous: he wants to fight the «disbelievers» and «apostates» to become a «soldier» of islam, and find grace in the eyes of Allah in the jihad.
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«When you are a fanatic, do you want to do well. It is impossible to go back in their logic. These people are convinced to be right and it is very difficult to change»
The Dardenne brothers, double winners of the palme d’or ( Rosetta and The Child ), try to find an answer to the difficult issue in their feature film terrifying. «When we are fanatical, we want to do good,» says Luc Dardenne at a press conference on Tuesday. It is impossible to enter into the logic of a radicalized person. These people are convinced to be right and it is very difficult to change them.»
Thus, the «young Ahmed» Dardenne, does think that the prayer and its absolutions. Shake the hand of a woman? Out of the question, «it is haram», launches the pre-adolescent barely fluffy. «What we were interested in was to put this young fanatic in relationship with purity,» says the younger, indicating see Ahmed and his fascination for martyrdom, «a zombie».
The life, winner of all the fanaticism
«we need to remain humble when one goes to the movies, says Jean-Pierre Dardenne. The film is not a court, nor an indictment. We are trying to see how we can bring this young Ahmed to life. It was our bet before you start writing the film.» The filmmakers belgians do not simply copy life, but to «take this case of bigotry» arm-the-body to come up with an answer.
«We said that no one had taken the religion which is an imaginary phenomenon, in serious, precise, Luc Dardenne. We looked at how it could transform someone to the point of him want to kill someone else». And the filmmaker recalled that «unfortunately, hate is also an ideal.»
» READ ALSO – Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne: «We do not look at the young Ahmed as a» victim
Despite the candor of the process, the young Ahmed is not a film «naive» according to its authors. «It is a film of peace that we have done, because life is always the strongest». The proof is written in History books! «All forms of totalitarianism, fanaticism, have been defeated by life. Always,» landed the duo in lieu of a lesson. The Story give it wrong to Ahmed? Response in theaters this Wednesday.
