Bassam Tariq’s latest film, Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, opens on Latif (Mahershala Ali) cleaning his bloody blade with baby wipes. He’s a walking contradiction in many ways: a devout Muslim who kills for a living; a father who is rarely home with his children; and a man who wields a mighty sword yet cannot fill the shoes that his late wife has left behind. These incongruous elements represent the two sides to the double-edged sword of fatherhood in this film. As Latif grapples with faith, family, and falsehoods, an epic, spiritual adventure unfolds.

The film’s title comes from a famous Hadith that reiterates the importance of the mother’s role in Islamic faith. A stranger asks the Prophet who is most deserving of his good companionship. He replies, “Your mother.” The man asks him, “then who?” three times, to which the Prophet responds: “Your mother,” “your mother,” and “then your father.” It’s a recurring coda in the film, illustrating the great lengths fathers must go to fill a mother’s shoes.

These themes of spirituality and family are the lifeblood of Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. When his wife passes away, Latif questions his religion. You can feel the weight of the world in Ali’s meditative voiceover in narration like: “Lord, you take her from me and expect me to bow down. I was your sword.” When this crisis of faith almost takes him over, Latif is pummeled with another blow: they’re almost out of his late wife’s breast milk, and his newborn daughter won’t digest formula. Latif’s search for mother’s milk – a symbol of his guilt for not having been there with his family when his wife died – spirals into a descent of violence.

Between the fights, chasing, and espionage of this action-packed adventure, there is a near-constant, unflappable sense of the divine. Even the cinematography evokes both Heaven and Hell. Cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi captures jewel-toned warmth in shots of Latif’s family, often meandering up to the sky with heavenly contemplation. Arizmendi also utilizes crane shots of intimate family moments to give the impression that their mother is watching over them. Right before some of the film’s darker moments, the camera inverts itself upside down to indicate a hellish descent.

Enter John Cho’s villainous turn as religious cult leader Hwan Yoon, with garish grills and full cowboy garb. Like Latif, Hwan is an ex-military man and applies his training to a “higher calling.” In a YouTube video, Hwan claims that he was resurrected after his mother prayed him back to life. He now travels throughout Texas on an anti-porn crusade, converting strip clubs to churches, and sex workers to Christian sisters. If Hwan is the devil on Latif’s shoulder, you might call Giancarlo Esposito the angel, as Latif’s imam, Abdul. Simply by casting both of these actors against type, Tariq subverts viewers’ expectations. This is not another sword movie.

Cultural chasms crack through Houston’s hot concrete in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Whether it’s Hwan taunting Latif’s fasting, or Hatty (Abubakr Ali) – Latif’s former student and “halal-certified” porn entrepreneur – referring to Hwan in racist monikers, there are layers to the multicultural Texan landscape. In their apartment complex, Latif’s daughter, Fatiha (played brilliantly by Adia), has a crush on a Mormon boy next door. Like her father, Fatiha also strays from her religious upbringing. These cracks in faith from Latif and those around him make the film’s holy conclusion all the more satisfying.

Tariq captures an undeniable Texan essence in the film, driving home its immigrant-centric message. He portrays a tapestry of tight-knit communities, of all religions, bound by faith. The sword fighting is a veil, shrouding more vivid meanings. Tariq carefully places emblems of faith, tokens of family, and cultural Easter eggs within the film like ornaments in a tree. No matter your belief system, there are messages and themes in Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother that will resonate with anyone who’s dropped to their knees in dark times, and especially those who have been strong enough to miraculously rise again — a testament to the strength of immigrants around the world.

Review Courtesy of Kasey Dunifer

Feature Image Credit to Amazon MGM Studios