YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY: FILM REVIEW
What if your grave was marked the day you were born? Amjad Abu Alala’s You Will Die at Twenty meditates on such a question, following the life of protagonist Muzamil who, at birth, was told by a sheikh that he would die at age twenty. The prophecy haunts him and his family, whose lives become shrouded by misery. Muzamil’s mother, Sakina, adorns all black, and his father abandons the two to find work abroad. Muzamil lives his life passively. The Sudanese director’s feature debut dances around the question of mortality — placing the notion of fate as its center.
How does death change the way we approach our lives? Is life about preservation or its antithesis? For Muzamil, existence has always been about the former. He operates under the strict watch of his mother, who is constantly terrified of putting him in any situation that could be considered dangerous. Sakina won’t let him play with other kids, leave the house without her watch, or even enroll in the local madrasa.
From Sakina’s perspective, her job is to make sure her son makes it to twenty. She dedicates his short life to purity — reducing his “sins” to as few as possible. Muzamil spends his time learning how to cite the Quaran in two styles, working at the local shop, and taking care of his mother. A local girl he grew up with wants his affection, but Muzamil barely pays her any mind.
But even Sakina’s approach to Muzamil’s life is peculiar. If she knows that Muzamil will die at 20, why not let him live as freely as possible? Such a prophecy could be perceived as a protective, two-decade-long spell. Sakina’s fear of death does not inspire life, but more death. Muzamil’s life becomes whittled down to survival.
Muzamil gets a new perspective on life when he begins to spend time with “Uncle Sulaiman” — a “friend” of his father, who also happens to be somewhat of a drunk — a behavior Muzamil sees as “haram.” Unlike most of the characters in the film, Sulaiman refuses to let life idly pass him by. He introduces Muzamil to the “finer things in life” — movies, travel, and the unknown.
Most importantly, Sulaiman brings Muzamil into the world of film, showing him old footage reels of his travels across the world. Muzamil is nothing short of entranced; he has never stepped outside the bounds of his tiny village, and for the first time, it seems the world might actually be filled with possibility, rather than disappointment.
Although most of us are not familiar with our death day in the way that Muzamil is, it doesn’t make death any less inevitable. As an affecting and somewhat crushing film, You Will Die at Twenty asks if knowing exactly when you will die is any different from knowing that you will — and if living without being alive is that much different from being a ghost.