Dear Son

By Shannon MacColl

The short:

An older Tunisian couple must contend with their new reality as they discover their migraine-ridden gentle teenage son disappears one night to join Daesh in Syria.

The long:

Following parents in Tunisia, Riadh and Nazli, the quiet journey of seeking assistance for their son, Sami, who is experiencing migraines as he prepares for his exams takes an unexpected turn. Sami is standoffish but respectful and seems to not “fit” in anywhere he goes. His father, Riadh, has poured everything into his son and as he comes to his retirement, spends even more time doting on him but seems to make no real connection with him. One day, Riadh goes looking for Sami and discovers through emails and social media that he has flown to Turkey to cross into Syria to join Daesh. Riadh spends his life savings and pension in a quest to bring Sami back but reality hits him in a small town in Turkey on the journey when he decides to return back to Tunisia. Sami is not coming back and when he does it is in a coffin. Nazli and Riadh must come to terms with this and discover their own lives.

To watch or not to watch?

Not to watch. Though the film takes a purposefully quiet and subdued tone throughout and the development of the joining Daesh plotline does not even become apparent until the second half of the film, it adds nothing of interest to the discussion of the rise of jihadism or the external factors that may influence one into this world. It is simply a heartbreakingly sad film with very little dialogue and no resolution for any of the characters. There are better media examples that provide further insight into the topic with more thought-provoking characters,