‘Father’s Footsteps’ Movie Review: A Powerful And Brilliant Portrayal Of A Mother’s Love In A War-Stricken Family

Director: Moahamd W. Ali

Cast: Nowar Yusuf, Sarah Altaweel, Veer Behal, Jennifer Sidhu

Available On: <Unconfirmed>

Duration: 28 Minutes

‘Father’s Footsteps’: Story

In the Syrian Civil War of 2016, a woman tries to hide the truth from her child by acting out the father's role. Will she be successful in playing the father’s part? Will she be able to hide the truth about the father from the child? Will the two survive the Syrian Civil War? Well, for all that, you’ll have to watch the movie.

‘Father’s Footsteps’: Performances

Nowar Yusuf carries the weight of the presentation on her shoulders. The way she switches emotions between shots is so smooth and effortless. While on one hand, she is frustrated and belligerent at the landlady, but in the very next instant, she turns into this caring and soothing voice for her son.

Not sure if Veer Behal is actually unable to speak in real life or not, but the way he has captured the sign language and the necessary expressions to go along with is commendable. Every hand gesture, every twitch in the eye, every smile – everything just looked so very well-rehearsed that it brought out naturality in it.

Jennifer Sidhu as the grandmother didn’t seem to serve a lot of purpose in the story.

Sarah Altaweel as the landlady did decently in the minimal screen time that she had.

‘Father’s Footsteps’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects

Moahamd W. Ali’s writing is on point. He manages to keep it short and crisp. He doesn’t wait for the story to give a lot of background details about where it’s set up and what’s happened, and what’s going on in the outer world. But the dialogues are so straightforward, and at times, soul-touching that it makes you feel like you’re sitting on that rugged old sofa watching the story unfold right in front of your eyes.

Moahamd W. Ali’s direction has managed to bring forth a very subtle yet powerful representation of not just a war-stricken life, but also a mother’s undying love for her?kid. It’s not easy to show a war-struck family without showing any visuals of the war. Just with some great set design, superb background score and fantastic make-up, he has managed to give the story the necessary depth. Within a minute of the film starting, you’re engrossed in the story, and you even believe the set-up, as it looks so real.

However, there are a few shots which seemed stretched out in the middle, but it could have possibly been done in order to keep the film of a certain length so as to be able to be put in certain categories of film festivals. Moahamd W. Ali and Sadang Arangham’s editing can be blamed a bit for that. Once the film’s done with the film festival circuits, if it’s released on YouTube, these extended slow shots will definitely compel the viewer to switch tabs and start checking out other things.

Shingkhanu Marma’s definitely is the best part of the short film. Getting the lighting perfect, the look of a dilapidated Syrian house perfect and above all keeping everything indoors and yet managing to tell a story from war is an amazing talent. The entire story depends on what the little boy is able to see and hear while eavesdropping on the conversation in the other room. The way Marma has taken the shots of the little boy’s eyes piercing through the small crevice on the door is superb.

Milad Khawam’s music and background score is surely another highlight of the film. He needed to create the sounds of the bullets being fired or the bombs being dropped, knowing well that they will not be shown onscreen. So, just by the BGM one needs to know what’s happening exactly at what instant. A job well done, we must say!

Lastly, the naming of the movie could have been a bit more personal. ‘Father’s Footsteps’ doesn’t get that familial feeling. As the story is mostly about the boy’s perspective, it could have been named ‘My Father’s Footsteps’. Or, if it were from the mother’s perspective, it could have been ‘Your Father’s Footsteps’. Or, even if you had to keep it neutral and vague, ‘A Father’s Footsteps’, signifying how much of an importance those footsteps hold in the life of a young boy.

‘Father’s Footsteps’: Can Kids Watch It?

Yes

Outlook’s Verdict

Many times, short films end up feeling like a part of a bigger story, but thankfully with ‘Father’s Footsteps’, it felt like the complete thing and nothing seemed amiss. Even though it gets a bit stretched with the long shots in the middle, the presentation comes out perfectly overall. It’s indeed a Must Watch. I am going with 4 stars.