Visual artist and filmmaker Imran Perretta’s Ish focuses on the dynamic relationship between two pre-teen boys from Luton during the summer holidays and their relentless search for belonging and acceptance that kids of that age crave.
Accompanied by a classically-infused soundtrack by Perretta, rather than the expected hip-hop, street beats affair adopted by previous Brit films about adolescence, as well as richly captured in black and white by cinematographer Jermaine Canute Edwards, Ish feels more like a pastoral elegy punctuated by ‘TV crime series-style’ CCTV moments of surveillance and profiling as ‘Big Brother’ watches Luton town’s every move.
12-year-old Ish (newcomer Farhan Hasnat) has just lost his mother and is trying to process his grief as best as he can, while having to face the long school break in a multi-generational British-Bengali family in mourning. Best friend Maram (fellow newcomer Yahya Kitana), or “that Palestinian boy” as Ish’s grandmother (Sudhar Bhuchar) calls him, looks far older than their shared 12 years, complete with facial hair and a self-assured attitude that disguises the impact of a troubled home life; we bear witness to his hothead father who comes around in the latter half of the film to confront Ish’s father, preferring violence to words in resolving a dispute.
At the start of the film, we see Ish and Maram playing in a makeshift den in a woodland, picking blackberries and having childlike play fights with the ‘blood’ of the berry juice, with only the low sound of the radio reporting the situation in Gaza breaking the innocent setting, or the low belly of a passing jet. The boys then come into contact with older, ‘cooler’ youths who they try to emulate in body language and street slang, but who favour making trouble, including shoplifting from the local store and picking fights at the outdoor lido. This tests Ish and Maram’s friendship as they chose whether to ‘grow up’ or not.
However, an abrupt encounter with police – or “the IDF” as Maram nicknames them, sees him snatched off his bike while walking with Ish along a residential street and forced into a white van. A frightened Ish runs for cover and hides. Feeling abandoned by Ish in his time of need, this strains the boys’ relationship further, perhaps beyond repair as the final scene suggests in a symbolic ‘parting of ways’ and differing life choices. Here, Perretta suggests the only way to be ‘saved’ and kept on the straight and narrow is by having strong family ties. Ish demonstrates this with his grandmother, older sister Samira (Joy Cookes) and father Naeem (Avon Shah) as they share precious moments together – much to Maram’s heartache throughout the film as he is seen hanging outside their house, hoping for an invitation to feel accepted.
Perretta’s directing effortlessly blends calmer wide shots to represent us, the silent observer of the boys’ behaviour, with frenetic, urgent ones that centre us within the boy’s inner hierarchy or criminal disregard during the shop theft. This also cleverly relays Ish’s predicament at any given moment, reflecting his inner conflict that flits between outlier and insider. As he feels more accepted, there is a playful nature to Edwards’ camerawork, including when the youths light fireworks in the woods in carefree nonchalance.
Ish marks an assured transition from shorts to feature filmmaking for Perretta, complete with artistic dominance over more run-of-the-mill urban films of youthful struggle. Ish also highlights some budding new acting talent from the local young cast that is always exhilarating to witness in its infancy.
3/5 stars
