Of Fathers and Sons

Terki avoids too much moralizing or even authoring, allowing his camera and presence to fade into the background of most scenes.

[Derki's poetic narration] serve to frame "Of Fathers and Sons" with the feeling that you're seeing a warped dream of family survival, one in which still-noticeable human bonds can't help but be corroded by isolating hatred and extremist ideology.

"Of Fathers and Sons" is ultimately more impressive for its access than it is revealing of drives or beliefs. If Derki's goal was to capture what causes ideology to spread, he and his camera look without seeing.

The film's verité approach risks humanizing Abu Osama, but we eventually gain a complex understanding of the banality of his evil.

An admirably audacious feat of documentarian access, Of Fathers and Sons is of obvious topical and anthropological interest as a glimpse into the gradual radicalization of young males and the deep community ties which underpin the process.

An intrepid, cold sweat-inducing study of Jihadi radicalization in the home from celebrated Syrian docmaker Talal Derki.

Derki’s film is an amazing feat of staying calm in circumstances where I personally would be just praying to survive, let alone having the fortitude to think about framing...

Episode 29: Doc Talk Part 2: Of Fathers and Sons / Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End / Who is Arthur Chu? / Billboard Boys / John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection

A perspective into daily Jihadist life, a peek not easily obtained or easily forgotten.

While not as frantically dynamic and exciting as Return to Homs, [filmmaker Talal] Derki's new film is no less disturbing, but on a more subtle level.