Anita Mathal Hopland has a Norwegian mother and a Pakistani father and grew up in Denmark, ‘in a world that celebrated diversity as something obvious’. But of course, somewhere along the line, she was brutally made aware of her different roots and the polarisation which was part of a new reality, one of ‘us and them.’
Being both ‘us’ and ‘them’ she decided to pick up a camera and bring it with her on her travels to Moosa Lane, home of her Pakistani family, in an attempt to bridge the gap.
Hopland’s work is strongest when she captures her individual family members in their moments of unawareness: lying on bed, folding sheets, praying, or fooling around with other kids, dancing in the street. And she takes us everywhere she goes: on the bus, to the beach, her niece’s wedding, family meetings. The film is the result of a fifteen-year journey, which she divides into three chapters, each featuring a family member.
The first is an obvious one: her niece Saima, only five years her junior when she starts out filming her – a girl on the brink of starting a new life as the arranged bride of a man she has never met before. Hopland asks her about her expectations: what will be good and what will be bad? Without hesitation Saima answers: ‘Everything will be good and nothing will be bad!’ She will step into her destined role as a wife and mother without reservations, as generations of women before her.
But a younger female family member, Alishba, is the indicator of change on the way. Despite her circumstances – growing up in a gang-infested area in a conservative religious environment – she is determined to stay unmarried and make a living for herself, with or without the blessing of her family. She is the one who gets the most screen time, probably because of her undeniable charisma and untamable spirit.
And then there’s Zayn, a bright young, educated man, who dreams about travelling to Denmark, to his aunt Anita. It seems like an impossible ambition, as the Pakistani family has unsuccessfully tried to make that journey for decades. But one of the many times Hopland shows up at the Copenhagen Airport with her camera, because you never know if they’ll make it this time, Zayn is actually there. He sets out to live the western life to the fullest, arousing new appreciation in Hopland for the country she grew up in.
It is nice to see Hopland embracing her privileged position: one where she can actually have the best of both worlds. She can cross the bridges between her two cultures unhindered; missing one place when she is in the other is a luxury problem. Showing both aspects of her being would have been interesting enough, because the characters she chose to depict are beautiful, vibrant and multi-dimensional. The scenes of togetherness, happiness and closeness – when preparing Saima’s wedding, travelling to the beach on a family outing or sharing immeasurable grieve at a later funeral – are aesthetically pleasing, heartwarming and heart-breaking in equal measure.
The one thing letting the film down is Hopland’s decision to manipulate the viewers’ emotions. Her voice-over is overly drenched in seriousness and pathos, the dramatic music lending otherwise cheerful moments an unnecessarily ominous or melancholic subtext. There is no need to lay it on so thick in what is otherwise a delightful account of a family connected through invisible yet unbreakable ties.
Denmark/Pakistan/Norway, 2022, 85 minutes
Director: Anita Mathal Hopland
Producer: Sara Stockmann, Sonntag Pictures ApS
Director of Photography: Anita Mathal Hopland
Editor: Signe Rebekka Kaufmann
International sales: Sonntag Pictures ApS
