How much did he know and when did he know it?
The redheaded American woman, Katie, is driving two Iraqi friends, Ali and Dawod, to the airport. They hit some congestion which triggers a memory for Dawod, the Iraqi, seated in the back, who is headed for his flight back home to Baghdad. He remembers when he and Ali were driving in a car in Iraq during their university days. When they came to the intersection they always turned on, Ali, now sitting next to Katie, firmly told the driver not to turn. “Why? We always turn!” But the driver did as directed, thereby avoiding a massive car bomb moments later on the avoided street.
The delivery of that story is the way “If You See Something” introduces you to things we don’t quite understand. And this causes your mind to be consistently engaged throughout with questions like “Is this all there is to know?”
The back story is that Ali was a doctor in Iraq and is now seeking asylum in the United States. Soon upon arriving in the US he meets Katie and they fall in love. Within a few months he moves into her apartment. Marrying her would perhaps expedite his asylum case, but he doesn’t want to use her.
Not too much time later, again on a car trip, but this time to visit Katie’s father, Ali gets a phone call that Dawod has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom in Iraq. The perpetrators have demanded $250,000 USD. Ali makes the decision to hide this news from Katie, not wishing to involve or use her money, which she would surely offer.
Immigration
This film is billed as a story about immigration and asylum. Since 9/11 Arab applicants are viewed with suspicion, not only in the application process, but by American citizens, like Katie’s dad. To verify they are in danger if they return to their home countries is difficult to prove, and the interrogation about their motives and past experience is invasively daunting.
The biggest fear for the US is an unwitting acceptance of Jihadist immigrants who may infiltrate their vengeful mentalities into America, where guns are legal and opportunities abound.
Who’s in the Credits?
A bevy of human rights activists populate the cast and crew of “If You See Something.” The film is dedicated to co-writer, Avram Ludwig, who was a noted activist with film projects for Democracy Now. After his death from pancreatic cancer in 2019, Jess Jacobs continued writing his screenplay and made it into what became this film.
The director, Oday Rasheed, b. 1973, was raised in Baghdad and lived there throughout the 2003 Iraq War. He immigrated to NYC in 2012. Themes recurrent in his work include immigration and limitless human capacity. This is his first English-language film.
Adam Bakri, as Ali, is from a well-known Palestinian acting family noted for understated, powerful performances. His brother, Saleh Bakri, starred in the courageously produced “The Teacher,” about kidnapping Israelis for the purpose of prisoner exchanges.
The Bottom Line
“If You See Something” does register the bias and suspicion many Americans harbor against the Middle Eastern community. But it also shows the difficult challenge of assimilation into the country that is responsible for bombing its home country into chaos. Friends and family are still suffering in that homeland, and those seeking asylum are well aware of the irony.
Reed Birney, as Katie’s dad, brilliantly represents middle America’s view. He loves his daughter but is suspicious, and I have to say for good reasons, of her Iraqi beau. Something just isn’t right, but the audience is mystified about what that exactly is.
There is also some murky content in “If You See Something” that confuses the focus. Early, we’re led into some confusing dark scenes – in Iraq? Why? And later on, what is the ransom business all about? Why is Dawod being held? We are never told.
Sometimes, like in the ensemble scenes of the Iraqi family harboring Ali, the characters are real and vibrant, with transparent emotions. At other times, particularly in scenes with Bakri as Ali, we do not understand his emotional process. There needs to be more script to flesh out the story so we can answer, at least in the end, what the film title references – as well as how much Ali knew and when he knew it.
Credits
Director: Oday Rasheed
Writers: Avram Ludwig and Jess Jacobs
Producers: Doug Liman, Stephanie Roush, Brian Newman and Jess Jacobs
Cast: Adam Bakari, Jess Jacobs, Lucy Owen, Hend Ayoub, Reggie Gowland, Tarek Bishara, Reed Birney, Hadi Tabbal, Alexandra Albert, Nasser Faris, Krystina Alabado, and Robyn Payne
Cinematography: Daniel Vecchione
Release: In New York Theaters on Oct. 31, expanding nationwide on Nov. 14.
Website: https://ifyouseesomething.ajointventure.com/
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