FLM.RED / After the credits
How does Latif return home after the violence his children see?
Spoilers: grief, faith and an ending open to interpretation.
Open the recap & discussion — spoilers
Latif returns home to Houston after his wife Khadijah dies. He must care for Fatiha, Qadir and infant Aziza while the violence of his work reaches the family.
The urgent need for milk
Khadijah’s stored breast milk is running low and Aziza cannot tolerate formula, so Latif seeks help finding a donor. Meanwhile Mike wants him to deal with Hwan, a religious leader pursuing Mike’s nephew Hatty. The search for milk brings Latif close to that conflict.
The children see what he hid
Violence follows Latif home and he tries to get his children to safety. Fatiha and Qadir see the side of their father he concealed. After Hwan’s followers kill Imam Abdul Malik, Latif leaves the children with his brother and confronts Hwan.
A prayer and an unexpected return
Hwan shoots Latif, who falls as Fatiha prays for her father. Latif rises again. Hwan, who believes his own mother’s prayers once saved him, is shaken, and the two stop fighting. Director Bassam Tariq has described intending Latif to witness his daughter’s prayer while acknowledging that viewers may read the ending as an afterlife.
Returning does not erase the past
The film brings Latif back toward his children, centering his need to know whether they still love him after what they witnessed. Hwan’s offer of forgiveness and Fatiha’s prayer carry different weight for a father living with the consequences of his violence.
After watching
- How did you interpret Latif rising again?
- How did Fatiha witnessing his work change their relationship for you?
Before watching
Contains violence, family bereavement and themes of faith.
Keep the conversation going
Does Latif die?
The film shows him rising and returning to his children; its director has acknowledged more than one interpretation of the ending.
