At the opening of this drama from filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala, a baby boy in modern Sudan is taken by his proud parents to a traditional Islamic "naming ceremony" on the banks of the Nile. There, however, the presiding holy man and his acolytes—apropos of nothing—declare the prophecy that the child, Muzamil, will die at age 20.
Muzamil's father, unable to bear it, flees to work abroad indefinitely. As a child, Muzamil finds himself shunned and bullied in his village, as a literal memento mori for the small community—though he and his mother are shown mercy and favor by their mosque.
As a growing youth, Muzamil (Mustafa Shehata) is respected for memorizing the Koran, and he even has an ardent female suitor. But he cannot escape the shadow of foretold impending death. Then he meets Sulieman (Mahmoud Maysara Elsara), a scandalous, worldly resident on the town outskirts, a boozy ex-cinematographer, and sinner who, despite his own considerable flaws, helps Muzamil perceive a world beyond his fears.
The feature was an official entry from Sudan for Academy Award consideration. Even immersed as the premise is in Northern African Muslim culture and cosmology, it mostly remains relatable to westerners. Much African cinema has narratives that unfold in a fairly ritualistic and pageant-like fashion, but Abu Alala (a disciple of Iranian cinema master Abbas Kiarostami) tells the tale in a fluid, accessible style.
Carefully composed visuals are beautiful and often genuinely sensuous to behold (buyers might mistake this for a homoerotic item based on cover art, but with swear words, drinking and hints of sex, the material would really hardly cross over into PG-13 territory). Two Amjad Abu Alala-connected short subjects are included as disc extras, but they do not add especially much. The title is highly recommended for world-cinema, pan-African and Arabic-language shelves.