Horses of God

On May 16, 2003, a group of young suicide bombers struck a series of sites in Casablanca, killing a total of 45 people—12 of the perpetrators and 33 victims. Nabil Ayouch's Horses of God serves up an imaginative dramatization of the underlying causes. Based on a novel by Mahi Binebine, the narrative focuses on two brothers living in Sidi Moumen, a squalid shantytown on the city's outskirts. Older, more bellicose Hamid (Abdelilah Rachid) not only protects his younger sibling, Yachine (Abdelhakim Rachid), but also becomes one of the area's gang leaders. When he's jailed, however, everything changes. Yachine now finds himself the target of neighborhood toughs, while Hamid returns from prison as a convert to Islamic fundamentalism—recruiting Yachine and several of his friends to join a cell of believers that is presided over by a radical imam. Eventually all of the young men are convinced to embrace roles as martyrs to the jihadist cause, becoming participants in the terrorist mission. While this fictionalized version of the historical event doesn't downplay the intensity of the imam's indoctrination, it also emphasizes the brutal, impoverished upbringing of Hamid and Yachine as a key factor behind their ultimate turn towards terrorism. Whether or not you agree with the implied accusation that environment rather than religious ideology was the true breeding-ground for the brothers' embrace of violence, the argument is delivered in a compelling dramatic fashion. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)