The Infidel (2010 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Josh Appignanesi |
| Produced by | Arvind Ethan David |
| Written by | David Baddiel |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Erran Baron Cohen |
| Cinematography | Natasha Braier |
| Edited by | Kim Gaster |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Revolver |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £1,748,853 |
The Infidel is a 2010 British comedy film directed by Josh Appignanesi and written by David Baddiel. The film stars Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Yigal Naor and Matt Lucas and revolves around a British Muslim who goes through an identity crisis when he discovers he was adopted as a child, having been born to a Jewish family.
Mahmud Nasir is a husband, father and a British Muslim who listens to rock music, particularly the long deceased pop star Gary Page, and occasionally drinks alcohol. His son, Rashid, wishes to marry Uzma, but they need the blessing of her devout Muslim cleric stepfather, Arshad Al-Masri. Mahmud agrees to put on the act of devout Muslim for the occasion.
Mahmud, while clearing out his recently deceased mother's house, stumbles across an adoption certificate. Mahmud learns he was actually adopted by his Muslim parents when he was two weeks old; his birth parents were Jewish, and his real name is Solomon "Solly" Shimshillewitz. This comes as a shock to Mahmud, who is somewhat anti-Semitic, exemplified by his relationship with his American Jewish neighbour, Leonard "Lenny" Goldberg.
During an argument with Lenny, Mahmud lets slip his ethnicity and his real name, and Lenny mentions a similarity to the name, Isaac "Izzy" Shimshillewitz, a local man, who may be Mahmud's biological father. Mahmud tracks his father to a Jewish old age home. He tries to visit, but a rabbi refuses him entry, saying it would be a shock for Izzy, a Jewish man, to see his son, a Muslim, and advises him to learn to act more like a Jew if he desires to see his father before he dies.
Lenny agrees to teach Mahmud what he knows about being a Jew, such as dancing like Topol and learning basic Yiddish, but the frequent trips to Lenny's house arouse Mahmud's family's suspicions, especially when Mahmud's kippah is spotted during a Muslim rally. Mahmud publicly burns the kippah in desperation as a symbol of his supposed hatred of Jews. Mahmud later attends a Bar Mitzvah with Lenny and unintentionally tells a very crude joke to the audience in broken Yiddish, only to be greeted with laughter from the attendees. Mahmud and Lenny attempt to see Izzy, but the rabbi still refuses to let Mahmud inside when he cannot say his Jewish Sh'ma or name the Five Books of Moses in Hebrew.
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Wikipedia