Little Terrors

I went with my husband and 14 year old daughter. It was a good way to spend time together because of the theme which is so relevant to our times today. The topic gave us something to talk about at dinner time. I appreciated the perspective which allowed us to understand the situation from a child's point of view. Without giving too much away, the situation gave a clearer understanding of the pressures put on children. It brought light to the influence adults have on children. It also gave an element to the different sides to a story that is so often viewed only in one way. The movie allowed the viewers to feel compassion for the innocent people. The quality of film and acting was exceptional for an independent movie. It's too bad that it opened during the the Toronto Film Festival but wasn't a part of the line-up because it was a good candidate.

Little Terrors isn't based on a true story, but it contains more truth than most fact-based films out there. What do you think when you hear the word jihad? Is it a brown-skinned, long-bearded man screaming Allah Akbar with a bomb strapped to his chest, out to kill the infidels? There is also another jihad: the struggle that burns inside Little Terrors' young protagonist Sahmi as he wrestles to connect Islam's teachings with the radical actions of the terrorist group that has drafted him. The genius of Canada's Maninder Chana brings these two jihads together in his directorial debut. Little Terrors attempts to bridge Western and Middle Eastern cultures with a message that is both an outcry to stop generalizing, and a sermon preaching against the reasoning of evil men who twist religion to brainwash and manipulate vulnerable, unstable minds. There are compassionate Muslims and radical ones, kind Americans and those who are rudely ignorant. These characters are judged as respectable or deplorable based on their actions, not their religions.