The highway journey film is made for Mad Libs. A gaggle of [lonely outcasts] embark on a highway journey to [get an abortion]; a pair of [struggling family members] hit the highway to [blend the line between fiction and documentary filmmaking] — and that’s simply the latest crop of movies about heading out searching for [all sorts of things]. Nadia Fall’s “Brides” plugs in some fairly sudden components the ol’ highway journey method, with startling — and in the end heartbreaking — outcomes.
We don’t know precisely what Doe (newcomer Ebada Hassan) and Muna (an electrical Safiyya Ingar) are as much as when the movie opens. Particulars from Suhayla El-Bushra’s script are initially slim, but it surely’s clear that “Brides” has loads to share, significantly when Doe begins flashing again to reminiscences of her mom (Yusra Warsama) and their difficult, seemingly painful life collectively.
The one telling be aware, issued early: We’re choosing up Doe and Muna’s story in “England, 2014.”
Even for viewers members with restricted data of the movie’s plot, the time interval and site will prick up some ears. In late 2014, UK teenager Sharmeena Begum left her dwelling and traveled to Syria to turn into a “jihadi bride” for ISIL — or as we all know it within the U.S., ISIS. It’s believed she had been inspired on this quest by a pocket of ISIS-affiliated girls referred to as the Sisters Discussion board. Two months later, three of her faculty associates joined her. However we don’t know this a part of the story but — or the way it will intersect and impression Doe and Muna — we solely know that these two BFFs are heading in a foreign country, giddy and a bit scared.
There are hints, after all, and initially the strongest components of Fall’s movie are these extra nuanced sequences. A reliance on flashbacks of all stripes does rankle for the primary half of the movie, however they show out in its last act (nonetheless, it’s robust going for awhile). The pair replenish on ice cream and burgers on the airport, readying for a plainer food regimen quickly sufficient. They don’t mess with their telephones the way in which youngsters do; after they do have a look at them, they give the impression of being shy, even afraid. And the stroll via airport safety? Too lengthy, the TSA too targeted on them, seeing the colour of their pores and skin (Doe is from Somalia, Muna’s household got here from Pakistan) or maybe their names on their paperwork.
On the finish of their flight to Turkey, we get extra to work with: Doe and Muna are ready for a lady named Hanan, a dreamy stranger they met on social media. A voiceover and flashes of Fb allow us to into no matter she’s bought the pair. And Doe and Muna have purchased it, ready hours and hours within the dismal Istanbul airport for an escort who by no means comes, ultimately deciding on yet one more loopy alternative on prime of a myriad of them. They’re going to Syria, it doesn’t matter what it takes.
Fall sustains many tonal expectations of the road-trip comedy and the coming-of-age story, to startling impact, as Doe and Muna lie, steal, and wheedle their means via Turkey to succeed in the border. There’s a cracking bit involving securing bus tickets that ultimately brings them into the orbit of a good-natured ticket vendor (Cemre Ebuzziya), which results in the form of pulse-pounding motion you are feeling a bit dangerous having fun with as leisure (it is a praise). The thorniness of Fall’s subject material is at all times obvious; as she tries to stability dueling concepts, themes, and tones, “Brides” is at its most thrilling when the director pushes on these tensions.
Initially, that’s at odds with El-Bushra’s flashback-heavy script. As Doe and Muna make their means via Turkey, we’re usually despatched again to see how the ladies have ended up right here, with a disconcerting emphasis on Doe’s backstory (we study extra about Muna later, however Ingar is so dazzling to look at that it’s an actual disgrace we now have to attend for these moments). It’s not solely Doe’s dwelling life that lacks (her mom’s shifty boyfriend is of no assist), it’s additionally her expertise at college the place her quiet nature and option to put on the hijab pull her into the sightline of cruel bullies. She has some respite inside the native Muslim neighborhood, particularly when she begins spending time with the good-looking and candy Samir (Ali Khan), however we all know all of it will ultimately come to some form of finish, based mostly on the place Doe is now.
Which may be a misdirect. Whereas the current path of Doe and Muna is the extra compelling portion of “Brides” — one thing distinctive and thought-provoking, a genuinely worthy addition to highway journey film canon — the regular construct of their previous is what proves to pack the actual punch. The place are Doe and Muna now? We all know, and we all know how they acquired there, and even why, however within the movie’s last act, Fall dares to discover extra about who Doe and Muna have been earlier than. Who, not the place or how turns into the important thing to unmasking “Brides,” and after we notice that within the movie’s wrenching last moments, because it guides us firmly into a brand new route, it’s not possible to not be moved.
Grade: B-
“Brides” premiered on the 2025 Sundance Movie Pageant. It’s at present searching for U.S. distribution.
Need to keep updated on IndieWire’s movie evaluations and important ideas? Subscribe right here to our newly launched publication, In Evaluate by David Ehrlich, through which our Chief Movie Critic and Head Opinions Editor rounds up the very best new evaluations and streaming picks together with some unique musings — all solely accessible to subscribers.