Ish film review: Tender coming-of-age drama
Imran Perretta's impressive first feature follows two friends navigating grief, racism and the impact of the Gaza war in contemporary Luton
Combining timeless coming-of-age tropes with a cultural specificity that channels the modern suburban British Muslim experience, Ish is the eye-catching directorial debut of visual artist Imran Perretta, who draws on his own trauma and collaborated on the script with playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh (Hunger, Die My Love). Filmed in romantically retro black-and-white, it focuses on the titular 12-year-old, played by endearing newcomer Farhan Hasnat, who negotiates friendship fallouts, racial profiling and family strife in his hometown of Luton.
The film begins with Ish and his best pal Maram (Yahya Kitana) play-fighting and building a camp in local woodland, before harsh realities intrude on their innocence. Maram’s Palestinian roots give him a connection to the conflict in Gaza, the horror of which angers and defines him, compelling him to pick a side: ‘This war is coming,’ he tells Ish, ‘No backing down’. The pair are part of a community that’s viewed with hostility by the police and are, at one point, subjected to a particularly appalling stop-and-search.
The wide-eyed, diminutive Ish is also grieving for his mother, and him and Maram push back against authority figures when they start hanging out with a group of more reckless older boys. However, when they get into trouble, Ish feels the protective embrace of his family: older sister Samira (musician Joy Crookes), grandmother (Sudha Bhuchar), and father Naeem (Avin Shah).
Evoking the likes of Kes, the Apu trilogy, The 400 Blows, Bicycle Thieves and Ratcatcher, this stylistically sophisticated film is a triumph of sublime imagery, sympathetically capturing the tumult of pre-teen life and othering of its protagonists. Also noteworthy is the smart sound design, which weaves in Gaza war reports and police radio comms to create an overarching, unsettling atmosphere of tension, oppression and suspicion. And the actors portraying the two young protagonists are friends in real-life, with the authenticity of their interactions working a charm in this tender and thought-provoking exploration of adolescence.
Ish is in cinemas from Friday 31 July; picture: Lara Cornell.