Hala (2019)

Hala: Directed by Minhal Baig. With Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna, Purbi Joshi. Muslim teenager Hala copes with the unraveling of her family as she comes into her own.

“This film is so two-dimensional and superficially plotted that it collapses under any real scrutiny, itu0026#39;s attempt at examination of a complex cultural subject clearly offending and polarising some of itu0026#39;s audience, and while I commend the young lead actor for bringing depth to her role with an expressive performance and proficient use of a skateboard (and I hope and imagine it will be a good launch-vehicle for her), despite her characteru0026#39;s somewhat unbelievable choices, I am left bewildered and annoyed that this production that would not look out-of-place at a second-year film studentu0026#39;s festival screening has achieved flagship platform positioning on Apple TV+ they must have been desperate for diverse content, fair enough, but I do not recommend you watch this film as it will probably leave you confused, annoyed and possibly offended!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e🗑”