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Layla M.

Play trailer Poster for Layla M. 2016 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
When a Moroccan teenager in Amsterdam is radicalized, she marries a jihadist and joins an Islamist cell in the Middle East, but she finds there are other prejudices there, too.
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Layla M.

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Glenn Kenny New York Times A brisk, involving film that depicts "radicalization" from a humanist angle while applying proper consideration to the political and cultural currents from which such transformations stem. May 8, 2018 Full Review Scott Tobias Variety An astute detailing of a Muslim woman's radicalization in Amsterdam and beyond. Sep 11, 2016 Full Review Joni Blyth One Room With A View Layla M. is as topical as it is heartbreaking. This atypical coming-of-age story is a fantastic debut for Nora El Koussour. Rated: 4/5 Mar 15, 2019 Full Review Michael McNeely That Shelf The brilliance of this film and El Koussour's performance is that Layla's M.'s indoctrination to being a wife of a Jihadist is logical, and even relatable. Feb 21, 2019 Full Review Joe Reid Decider ... the filmmakers do a rather great job getting the audience to understand their lives and minds and often their hearts. Apr 13, 2018 Full Review Eddie Strait The Daily Dot It's a stark reminder that some of the worst choices we can come from universal places of injustice and alienation. Rated: 3.5/5 Mar 27, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (7) audience reviews
J D A bolshy muslim girl who is rude to one and all falls for the lies of Islam and leaves Amsterdam where she has loving parents and a free life style. She heads off to an Islamic State to become radicalised. I was disgusted with the rudeness of the girl and hoped she would be brought down a peg or two. I would not recommend it. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/07/24 Full Review Audience Member I feel like this movie had so much potential. It had the ability to tell a great story but was ultimately too rushed. The movie didn't build up the radicalization enough and made it seem abrupt and sudden. Layla doesn't seem sympathetic because of this but rather spoiled and angsty. You could add more time to this, to make her transition feel more realistic, and more understandable. But the only real incident we see prior to her radicalization is a comment at a football game. Her family is well adjusted, she is well off enough to live a middle class life in Amsterdam, and she is able to go to university to study. She gives this all up for a radical cause yet the film take the time to build this story up. Stories of people that give up these kinds of life don't come from a bad day or week but months if not years of build up. And a lot of that is implied but it doesn't show the increasing racism in Dutch society. Overall the film just feels like a waste. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Garbage. The movie shows a woman who falls in love with a man who is religious. It is because of him, she starts reading the Koran more and more, making her a fanatic who agrees to go with her husband to join a terrorist organisation. This movie practically shows us that if you read the Koran you would be more likely to join terrorists, become more extremist and even paranoid that the west has it out for you. Total waste of time. I would recommend watching anything other than this crap. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member A very well made movie with a great story that'll open your eyes to things that go on in the world. Great acting and the script make this worth seeing. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member No editorial in this film. No matter where you stand on the subject matter, you will be impressed with the impartiality of the effort. Love how the movie ends with a question mark of sorts. Nice effect. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A stark reminder of how anger can colour perception. This film is also a warning to those of us who can get oblivious of changing times and expect reality to be what it used to be. Immigration to western countries have definitely modified social and cultural rules and it pays to lend serious attention when someone gets hypersensitive to what otherwise be a slight dent on one's identity. Films like these call for the rejection of single identities, for we Layla was a lot more than just a Muslim girl, or an immigrant girl in Holland. She was a woman with given opportunities. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Layla M.

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis When a Moroccan teenager in Amsterdam is radicalized, she marries a jihadist and joins an Islamist cell in the Middle East, but she finds there are other prejudices there, too.
Director
Mijke de Jong
Producer
Arnold Heslenfeld, Laurette Schillings, Frans van Gestel
Screenwriter
Mijke de Jong, Jan Eilander
Production Co
Chromosom Filmproduktion, Topkapi Films, Schiwago Film GmbH
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Dutch
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2018
Runtime
1h 50m
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