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The Taqwacores

Released Oct 22, 2010 1h 23m Drama List
41% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A conservative college student (Bobby Naderi) moves into a house inhabited by fellow Muslims who are into punk rock.

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The Taqwacores

Critics Reviews

View All (27) Critics Reviews
Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard If it argues about what it means to be young, Muslim and American, it does so with some tedium at its edges. Rated: 2/5 Aug 12, 2011 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian From this intriguing beginning, sadly, a laboriously scripted and acted drama unfolds... Rated: 2/5 Aug 11, 2011 Full Review Chloe Roddick Little White Lies Far-from perfect but bravely interrogates a difficult subject. Rated: 3/5 Aug 11, 2011 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row A missed opportunity that is at once strenuously sincere and painfully misguided - a ham handed cry for tolerance that doesn't do its characters, or its subject, justice. Rated: 2/4 Aug 5, 2019 Full Review Lucy Popescu CineVue The actors all give credible performance, but running at just over 80 minutes, The Taqwacores feels slight and under-developed. Rated: 2/5 Nov 15, 2018 Full Review Kaleem Aftab The List Initially such subversive and provocative characters come across as too crude to be credible. Yet the success of Zahra's film is to take these base elements and channel them into a film that explores identity crisis. Rated: 3/5 Nov 6, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (19) audience reviews
Audience Member Even though Muslim punk exists since the beginning of the 80s, it was only in 2003 that this movement was known thanks to Michael Muhammad Knight's book. « The Taqwacores » is therefore based on this book and it was premiered seven years later. Even if the goal of the film is clear, that is showing the existence of this Muslim punk movement in the USA and the trouble in getting in, it hides some surprises and interrogations. Since the characters and the movie do not rebel without any reason, although the violence shown is sometimes too much, it is the consequence of an essential questioning of Islam. The power of the film lies in the director's decision of not taking the same path as other films dealing with religion. « The Taqwacores » does not only go against the flow, but it gives some food for thought: can we worship just a part of the Koran? That is, can we not just take all that is said for granted but also apply our critical sense in order to build our own faith? Can we reverse religious symbols and use them as we please? The film does not give any distinct answers and it does not mean to, but, thanks to some clever realistic dialogues and scenes, it suggests some ideas. And, at the end of the day, we do not ask for more but some ideas to encourage our thinking about a matter that should be better known. Full review on our blog Los Indiscretos : https://losindiscretos.org/2016/12/30/the-taqwacores-2010-eyad-zahra/ Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw this at The Scottsdale International Film Fest in Oct 2010. While it is based on a novel, it borrows heavily from other films. There is great depth of character development, but the movie is ultimately slowed by the pacing of the story. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Yusef: what is punk? Guy!: I don't know, they said it's something like social taboos..being loud.. Yusef: What do you think? Guy1: I think it's just about being ugly, That's why you can't be punk you look too good. *Both Laugh Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Short. Simple. Loud. Angry. A punk film as it should be. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member A cliched story (innocent leaves home and discovers the Real World for the first time) is helped out by a total immersion into a world I know nothing about. A little hand holding would've been nice, as Muslim terms are thrown about liberally (heh) with no definitions. Interesting to see so many stock movie characters (Shy Nerd, Stoner, Rebel, Loser, Super Gay Guy, Angry Jock, Girl) with a Muslim spin. All of these characters have some degree of faith, despite many of their "sinful" actions. And a couple of the actors are really great, too. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Amazing set of charexters with great ideas. The story telling is unrefined and even sometimesflat out poor but the charecters win out in the end. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Taqwacores

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Movie Info

Synopsis A conservative college student (Bobby Naderi) moves into a house inhabited by fellow Muslims who are into punk rock.
Director
Eyad Zahra
Producer
Eyad Zahra
Screenwriter
Eyad Zahra, Michael Muhammad Knight
Distributor
Strand Releasing
Production Co
Rumanni Filmworks
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 22, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 25, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$11.2K
Runtime
1h 23m
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