Film Review: Ignorant (Yahil)

The story is about a seven (7) year old child who asks his father a question regarding the size of the 10 fils being larger than the 20 fils, although the value of the 20 fils is bigger than the 10 fils. His father sarcastically told him: “Ask the Minister of Finance, yourself!” The child took the matter into his own hands and dealt with his father’s reply seriously and literally. The next day, the child went with the driver to the secretary of the Minster of Finance to arrange a meeting. It was clear he did not take the child seriously. However, curious to the child’s question, the secretary asked the Minster if it was appropriate for him to meet up with the child, and the Minster agreed. After the child asked the same question to the Minster, he was surprised by the child’s simple, yet logical, question; and therefore, decided to act upon his question.

The director of the movie is a young Kuwaiti independent filmmaker named Yousef Al Abdullah. He is also the cinematographer, editor, and screenwriter. The cast were set by Hussain Al Marzoq (the child), Osama Al Bloushi, Mohammed Ashor, Bader Al Mutar, and Fahad Al Fadil. Qomrtona Company produced the film.

The film collaborated with the “Ajial Cinematography Event” which took place in Doha. The film won the award for the best short movie for children, and Yousef, the director, won a prize of $5,000. The film Yahil is the first Kuwaiti film to collaborate with this event.

The first words of the director after joining the event were: “I am very happy for accepting my movie in this event. I am very excited for this experience, as the audiences are the judges, and their ages are between 8 to 12 years old. I am very honored for representing Kuwait in one of the most important events which are specialized in children cinematography.”

Finally, we should not ignore the questions asked to us. Always cherish the little details and remember that a mind of child is easily molded, so take everything they say seriously and answer them with common sense. This story shows what goes on in the minds of our children and how they think.