DK/ SO 2018, R: Nasib Farah, Søren Steen Jespersen, 82 Min, OmU

„Lost Warrior“ erzählt die Geschichte von Mohamed, dem seine Eltern ein besseres Leben wünschen, weshalb sie ihn schon im Alter von drei Jahren von Somalia nach England schicken. Als Teenager gerät er dort auf die schiefe Bahn, landet im Gefängnis, radikalisiert sich und wird mit 19 zurück nach Somalia abgeschoben: Direkt in die Fänge der Terrororganisation Al-Shabaab. Als er erkennt, dass Al-Shabaab weder für Befreiung noch für Frieden steht, flieht er nach Mogadischu, um sich vor der Organisation zu verstecken, die ihn als Abtrünnigen verfolgt. Dort lernt er die junge Fathi aus London kennen. Die beiden heiraten, Fathi wird schwanger, aber sie muss alleine nach London zurückkehren, da Mohammed keine Papiere besitzt. Ob die Familie je wieder zusammenfindet?
Regisseur Nasib Farah plädiert dafür, „jungen Menschen, die ihr Leben riskieren, wenn sie zynische Terrororganisationen verlassen“, eine zweite Chance zu gewähren.

Trailer:

EN:

Lost Warrior follows Al-Shabaab-regretter, Mohammed, who was recruited at a young age by the terrororganisation Al-Shabaab back in England. After finding out, what the terrororganisation was really about, he deserted Al-Shabaab and is now living underground in Mogadishu with no papers. He wants to escape Somalia and unite with his young wife and son back in England. Before Al-Sahaab finds him and kills him. Mohammad was just three years old when he was sent from Somalia to England, unaccompanied by his parents, in the hope that he would have a better life there. But as a teenager in London he engaged in criminal activity, which landed him in prison where he became radicalised. At the age of 19, he was deported back to Somalia, which sent him straight into the arms of the terror organisation, Al-Shabaab. But once Mohammed realises that Al-Shabaab is not a freedom movement, but in fact targets and kills innocent people, he decides to escape. As a 23-year-old he lives under the radar in Mogadishu in an attempt to hide from Al-Shabaab. This is where he meets Fathi who was born in London but sent to Somalia for ”re-education”. They get married and when Fathi travels back to London, she is pregnant with their child. The film follows the young couple’s attempts at being reunited as a family in order to create a future for themselves and their son, Yassir. But Fathi and Mohammed are not only challenged by predominant world politics, which renders Mohammed practically without citizenship. They are also trapped by their own culture and its demands to uphold traditional and religious practices that are not in tune with being young in today’s modern society.

“There are no obvious answers by the end of it all. … Lost Warrior dares to challenge viewers on ideas of rehabilitation and forgiveness through its compelling case study of a young family separated by a cultural identity crisis.” (filminquiry.com)

“Lost Warrior is an amazing film, full of twists and emotions. It is about love, anger, trauma, uncertainty and the struggle for a better life. It gives a full and dynamic picture of the complex lives of Mohammed and Fathi, and, with impressive access, delves deep into Somali households. An emotional film to watch” (africanarguments.org)