Matir moina

Set in East Pakistan in the late ’60s, just prior to the civil war that brought independence to Bangladesh, it tells the story of Anu (Nurul Islam Bablu), a young boy sent to a harsh madrasa by his devout Muslim father Kazi (Jayanto Chattopadhyay). Warning against religious fundamentalism, Masud moves between Anu’s experiences at the madrasa and his father’s increasingly unhinged attempts to force their family to conform to Muslim dogma, until a shattering political development changes everything. Inveighing against religious extremism, it is also a humane and affecting film with an empathetic eye for the innocence of childhood, a quiet wisdom and a wry sense of comedy; all beautifully backed by imagery of life on Bangladesh’s waterways and in its towns. (Independent Cinema Office)