Of Fathers and Sons

Released Nov 16, 2018

1h 38m

Documentary

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96%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Talal Derki returns to his homeland, where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family. Sharing the family's daily life through the lens of his camera provides an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic caliphate.

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Richard H

A good look into the Western supported opposition. This isn't really the fringe of the opposition, their beliefs are widespread. This is one of many pieces about the Islamists but it highlights what we don't get, what is missing from the one sided journalism, which would be a look into the government side of the conflict, those who fight to uphold a secular state and the right for survival for the minorities. There is so much about the opposition but nothing from the government side, except for a little on YouTube.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/22

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Audience Member

Behind the hard, tough exterior built by fervent Islamist beliefs and yearning for death in Allah's cause, salafist jihadis are human beings. They love, they hate, they laugh, they cry, they even have some fun. This does not in any way, shape, or form excuse or absolve them from the horrendousness of their bloody actions, but it is refreshing to see a film that goes behind the scenes of the life of one Salafist family and the education they bring to their children along with their conviction that in the End of Days Islam will be victorious and all religion will be for Allah. Hate them, or hate them a lot, these Islamist "extremists" (ie, fundamentalists) are, well, human beings, and form part of the human condition in the real world. Their beliefs and their emotions as well are important to note and to understand. And are the children just victims, in their absorption in the path of Allah? Does it matter if they are or are not victims? This is the real world, friends, welcome to it. Kudos and mad props to the filmmaker and core crew, who spent two years befriending and debriefing one man's circle of family and friends, and capturing the lives of his children in their home.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

dave d

'Of Fathers and Sons' is a 2017 Arabic-language German-Syrian documentary film directed by Talal Derki about radical jihadism and terrorist training in Syria. Unlike a bunch of other docs from Syria, this may strike fear in the west just for the vitriol the Syrians profiled have for America, and just about anyone opposed to their cause. What is their cause? They might not even know. Some movies have made me feel empathy for the civil war torn country, but this one left me curious. Is this more of a normal? Are these fringe radicals that could develop into something problematic? Wouldn't it be nice to not have war and the aftermath it creates. If you've following Syria at all this is required viewing, but it's not necessary. Final Score: 7.1/10

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Nominated for best documentary it is very difficult to watch. This docu concerns fathers indoctrinating sons in the radical Islamic beliefs readying them for the Caliphate..

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Chris J

In general I haven't been very impressed by Syrian documentaries. This of course was no different, I went into it blind but it left me feeling like it could've been so much more. The biggest "positive" is the perspective this was told from. It's not often that you get to see this side of things. So I will definitely give it credit for that. My biggest issue is the execution of the documentary overall. It jumped all over and felt messy. Basically it felt like a propaganda film at times, then jumped to something you could actually relate to. You could even almost feel the humanity of it all. The most important part is that another one bites the dust and it takes me down to only 8 films left to see before the Oscars! (I'm seeing the shorts next weekend!) Unfortunately Border seems like it'll be my white Buffalo this year. With Capernaum and Never Look Away possibly needing to be 6 hour road trips...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/11/19

Full Review

Audience Member

Derki makes such an effort to be a fly on the wall that it becomes obvious how overly labored and edited together the result is (just pay attention to where the camera is), but at least he captures a disturbing reality in which childhood innocence dies with fanaticism and hatred.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Talal Derki

Director

Abu Osama

Self

Ayman Osama

Self

Osama Osama

Self

Hans Robert Eisenhauer

Producer

Ansgar Frerich

Producer

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

Terki avoids too much moralizing or even authoring, allowing his camera and presence to fade into the background of most scenes.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 23, 2018

Full Review

Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

[Derki's poetic narration] serve to frame "Of Fathers and Sons" with the feeling that you're seeing a warped dream of family survival, one in which still-noticeable human bonds can't help but be corroded by isolating hatred and extremist ideology.

Nov 21, 2018

Full Review

Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

"Of Fathers and Sons" is ultimately more impressive for its access than it is revealing of drives or beliefs. If Derki's goal was to capture what causes ideology to spread, he and his camera look without seeing.

Nov 15, 2018

Full Review

Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

Derki’s film is an amazing feat of staying calm in circumstances where I personally would be just praying to survive, let alone having the fortitude to think about framing...

Jan 5, 2023

Full Review

Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

Episode 29: Doc Talk Part 2: Of Fathers and Sons / Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End / Who is Arthur Chu? / Billboard Boys / John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection

Rated: 68/100

Sep 9, 2021

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

A perspective into daily Jihadist life, a peek not easily obtained or easily forgotten.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 25, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Talal Derki returns to his homeland, where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family. Sharing the family's daily life through the lens of his camera provides an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic caliphate.

Director: Talal Derki
Producer: Dan Cogan, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Jenny Raskin
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Basis Berlin Filmproduktion, Ventana Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 16, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 29, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.4K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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