Honour (2014) Reviews

• Raw realty difference of two cultures in UK

  bektaskonca2014-05-03

  i can say nothing was hold back on this movie about the hate on both sides, film was dark, raw and gritty as it can get in Great Britain. i am guessing this film will upset a lot of people who are Muslim and i have to say i do not fallow any religion myself but saying that lots of Muslim's will come to realise the truth in the story which is happening all around us even today. i am from Turkey originally so bit more open minded about Women's choices but to east of Turkey mostly in Urfa honour killings are reality even to this date, lately a girl getting raped and killed by family member by drowning while she was 4 months pregnant. i am not an ostrich i will not put my head in sand and say this is not happening like most, Honour killing is not a religious but cultural upbringing it happens not just in Muslim cultures but seems more apparent due to how often it is happening. i have to say only way forward is educating people by saying taking life is wrong moral point and religious point and this job task is for making tougher laws by government and religious leaders speaking out to their community to change hearts. i believe the film was well acted but have to say it was rushed with bad cutting directing was OK i would have like to see the story being more longer more character development and more depth as it is i gave 8 should have been 6-7 but it is a brave, bold and raw take on this sensitive matter for that it deserves 8 and should be watched by every one over the age of 18 due to way more realistic Violence used in the film.

• Ethno-cultural Hunger Games

  t-leadbeater2014-05-09

  I saw this recently at an Insight event - promoting faith based films - which did not in the end feel quite right. The focus is on testosterone-led patriarchy rather than religion. Nice touch (minor spoiler) that the elder brother is in the police. The central couple are sympathetic although their relationship is sketched as minimally as necessary to set the plot going. An interesting angle is intra-communal snobbery (almost racism) of the woman's family towards the Panjabi boyfriend. This is expressed most contemptuously by the elder brother but also leads to the most brilliant scene in which he simultaneously speeds to a domestic violence incident whilst threatening murder in Urdu on the phone to the other brother. The producer said his intention was "to entertain" and that it was not an issue-based film.It's definitely gripping and free of sanctimony. I think "tell a story" would have better covered both his/their commercial hopes and the use of honour killing as a plot. A sort of real-life Hunger Games - the woman is rather character-less but you root for her.

• Realistic and brave attempt to show how it is

  shaneis2015-12-05

  I find it a little ridiculous that a few reviews have based their review on their own religious views, g-h-f from London seemed more interested that they are a Pakinstani from England...what that has got to do with an honest critique beats me. The film shows it how it is, anyone with any real life experience will know this movie has portrayed the subject truthfully, there's no 'disrespect' to any religion or nationality, this movie is accurate and at the same time worrying. About time a director told it like it is and not namby pamby around the subject. It is what it is, unacceptable, awful, cruel and disrespectful to women and indeed to society. More films should tell the truth and be direct rather than try to be PC.

• Honour Killing.

  Nemesis422015-03-12

  The film addresses the insanity of extremists who are so spiritually void that they believe it is okay to kill a member of their own family if that member wishes to choose their own lover, specifically a lover whom is out of favor with the said extremists. This kind of death-wish upon another is plain nuts and has no place what-so-ever on our planet or in the universe. Anyone who considers honour killing an acceptable way to behave needs re-education in the ways of logic and compassion. Crimes of passion will likely always happen, and happen across a variety of cultures worldwide. But when it happens, the appropriate penalties must be applied. It is a shame that in some counties it is tolerated by local authorities, this is the problem. It is a murderous and sub-human practice. If severe punishment were dispensed to the imbeciles who order these murders, worldwide, then more children will learn the right way. They will learn that love should not be restricted by race or religion.

• An unusual topic

  peterp-450-2987162015-01-09

  "Two people love each other, why can't people be happy for them? He's Punjabi, Mona. He's Muslim, Adel. Yeah, but that ain't how it works." Occasionally you watch a movie with a rarely used (or abused) topic. No alien creatures threatening to destroy humanity, not another childish story about a post-apocalyptic world with a youngster as a liberator, not again cheap humor in a silly comedy with overstressed eager beaver, not an average action story with muscled guys or a horror with once again an evil spirit being driven out by using medieval rituals to the place where it came from. "Honour" is about honor killings. Despite our modern society this ancient use is still applicable in some cultures. Especially in the Muslim communities they sometimes fall back on this custom. Mostly the targeted persons are those who ashamed their family and, believe it or not, these mad acts are justified by certain laws of Islam. In some countries the majority of perpetrators go unpunished like in Pakistan. It's a despicable thought that there are hundreds of women being killed each year because they have violated the family honor. And that's the starting point of this film. "Honour" is a gray and depressing impression of the beautiful Mona (Aiysha Heart) whose life enters a gruesome cycle of violence after she began an affair with a Punjabi and therefore experiences the wrath of her primal conservative mother (Harvey Virdi). Mona's mother (the similarity with the nasty witch from Hansel and Gretel is striking) and brother Kasim (Faraz Ayub) first try to take the law into their own hands. This goes wrong (in an incomprehensible way) and they hire a bounty hunter (Paddy Considine) to liquidate Mona. You can call the performances of the actress Aiysha Hart and the other actors commendable. Persuasive and dedicated. A cast that does its utmost to realize a credible and realistic story. Considine plays a sublime character role. You can see the duality in his character evolving. From a cold blooded, racist assassin into a true understanding person who apparently still has a bit of humanity inside him. Despite these superb performances, the film still fails on several points. Apparently Shan Khan couldn't really decide whether it should be a didactic documentary or a thriller. It's not a documentary because the background of the problem is pretty vaguely presented and there's hardly any explanation. For a thriller, there has been as much as no suspense. Also, the storyline was pretty confusing because of the constant use of time jumps and constantly viewing the same situation from a different viewpoint. The whole movie was like a Spaghetti Bolognaise: tasteful with a clew of story lines. Despite being a low-budget film, "Honour" partly succeeded to convince. It throws some light on a mysterious and incomprehensible to our standards culture, where barbaric practices are still honored. All in all I thought it was a good movie and a must see, if only to conclude that unfortunately such practices are still part of our modern society. And despite the dark atmosphere, this film also shows a gentle side so there remains still a bit of hope. Technically, I thought the executed idea of the film being a loop, not unkind and creative. More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be