A Stray Review
By Sameer Kazmi
Edited by Carl Cottingham
On the face of it, A Stray looks like your everyday movie about a man struggling to survive in this world. It is exactly what this story is for the most part but it does so with a twist. Adan, a Somali refugee in Minneapolis (a city well-known for its sizable Somali refugee population), is kicked out of his mother’s apartment, then quickly thrown out of his friend’s place. Looking for food and shelter, he ends up at a mosque, where the imam lets him stay in exchange for work. The owner of the restaurant next to the mosque gives him a job, and it appears things are looking up for Adan. That is until he accidentally hits a stray dog with a car. Reluctantly, Adan has to take care of the dog, much to the disgust of the other people in his life. In Islam, there is a belief that a dog is considered to be an unclean animal that drives the angels away. As a result, Adan is no longer welcome in his community and loses his job and his shelter. And thus begins the journey two strays: Adan and the dog. Adan struggles with the idea of abandoning the dog in order to get accepted by his people once more but he is a good man, most of the time, which makes the decision harder than he expected it to actually be.
One of the crowning achievements of this movie is that it does not become repetitive. Adan and the dog’s relationship is the spine of the whole movie and one might expect their up-and-down relationship to become predictable. However, it is a testament to director Musa Syeed’s storytelling that you do not feel that way at all. Adan and his faithful companion are put through all sorts of different challenges, which strengthen their relationship gradually and keep their story interesting. Barkhad Abdirahman plays the part of Adan, and makes it entirely believable. He starts the movie off with intense dislike for the dog who he had always thought of as dirty and impure but as the movie progresses, he learns to care for him. He brings a certain sense of loneliness and anger to his character and remains likable throughout the movie from beginning to end.
The real star of the movie without a doubt is Syeed and his direction. There are a number of shots in the film that are simply incredible. One scene instantly springs to mind. Adan is praying under a bridge right next to a river and as he prays, the usually very animated dog just stands right behind him as if he’s paying his respects as well. As Adan kneels to the ground, the dog also sits, waiting and watching. The shot of the running water, the shimmering sun, and the two unlikely friends trying to find inner-peace in their own ways makes the whole movie worth the watch.
The one hour, twenty-two minute runtime is just enough to tell the story of Adan, while also making sure that the movie does not drag at any particular point. It is a film with no heroes and villains and talks about how one’s place in society is fixed. It tries to use Adan as an example of a person who challenged that assumption. Whether one likes the movie or not, that is a message we can all get behind. Fortunately, the film is great enough to carry that message.
8.5/10
