Young Ahmed

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1:33

Young Ahmed

Released Feb 21, 2020

1h 24m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

85 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A Belgian teen, embracing an extremist interpretation of the Quran, hatches a plot to kill his teacher.

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Critics Consensus

Young Ahmed doesn't represent the Dardennes brothers' most developed work, but solid acting and a socially conscious story help compensate for its flaws.

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Nick Schager

Esquire Magazine

The directors' aesthetics are as formally rigorous and evocative as ever, capturing the unyielding nature of zealotry, as well as the difficulty of loosening extremism's terrible grip on individuals' hearts and minds.

Jan 27, 2021

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Clarisse Loughrey

Independent (UK)

[Filmmakers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne] are clear-sighted and righteous in their approach.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 9, 2020

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

The narrative unfolds in that earnest semi-documentary (and French language) style that the Dardennes do so well. But it's also glib and unconvincing, and topped off by a profoundly stupid ending.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 10, 2020

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Julian Singleton

Cinapse

Young Ahmed treats its subject matter from a troubling place of foregone moral conclusions.

Jul 12, 2025

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Fernando E. Juan Lima

EscribiendoCine

The biggest issue isn't its political outlook or the position it takes, but the superficiality and the one-dimensional way it approaches it. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

Sep 16, 2022

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Young Ahmed” is yet another Dardenne brothers film that highlights their unique harmony of story and style. It’s a quietly affecting drama stripped of artifice and that fully embraces their naturalistic point-of-view.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 17, 2022

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isla s

This is certainly a thought provoking watch. I expected things to go a certain way and was surprised that the plot took a different turn... its a sobering and thoughtful watch but I don't think I can say much more. A thoughtful drama about an adolescent French muslim who gets in trouble, this is worth a watch, yes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

A powerful humanitarian statement, great acting, suspenseful from start to finish, a slow burner conceived by the genius brothers. A timely and accurate portrait of fanaticism and an essential representation of compassion and forgiveness.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

Between 2.5 and 3 stars. Made in a documentary-like style, you will understand and at the same time hate this stubborn boy how he spoils his life.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

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Audience Member

Propaganda at its finest

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/07/20

Full Review

Sammo

Debated if should've given it just the 3.5 stars (Recommend). But... I don't like movies that leave me hanging in the end, having to guess what could've, or would've. It's all about this "radicalized" and "brain-washed" Ahmed about being a Muslim. We just scratched our head as to how this boy got so brain-washed so early (young). In the end, he felt from the roof, and was like dying, and his mother appears, the "perhaps" he realized his mother was the best? We don't know if he was going to reject his muslimness because of this fall, which likely woke up his brain?

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/25/20

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Audience Member

What saves this boring screenplay is the direction and the acting of the main characters. But it's still not worth it to watch.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Director

Luc Dardenne

Director

Idir Ben Addi

Ahmed

Olivier Bonnaud

L'éducateur de référence

Myriem Akeddiou

Inès

Victoria Bluck

Louise

Young Ahmed: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A Belgian teen, embracing an extremist interpretation of the Quran, hatches a plot to kill his teacher.

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Producer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Denis Freyd, Luc Dardenne
Screenwriter: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Archipel 35, Les Films du Fleuve, France 2 Cinéma, RTBF, Proximus
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 21, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $21.3K
Runtime: 1h 24m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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