The Reluctant Fundamentalist

A film built on a conversation in a café in Lahore. Changez is a Pakistani academic. An American journalist wants to interview him; an American professor has been abducted in the city and Changez is thought to have a connection. The conversation begins and the man tells his own story. He studied at Princeton, worked at a valuation firm in New York and rose very fast. The job was to examine companies and say where to cut. He turned out to be good at it. Then September 2001 arrives. He is taken into a separate line at the airport, the looks change in the street, and his position at work becomes a question. The change is slow and small each time. The question is what became of this man and how much of it was his own choice. The narrative runs the tension in the café alongside the past, and what either side should believe stays unresolved. The source is Mohsin Hamid's novel. Riz Ahmed plays Changez and Liev Schreiber the journalist. Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland and Om Puri are in the cast. Mira Nair directed. A strong example for anyone who likes political drama and narratives built on identity. For a viewer who wants a clear answer, the film leaves its ending open.