Key Takeaways
- Actor Mahershala Ali and filmmaker Bassam Tariq provided background on the opening scene from upcoming film Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother.
- Ali plays Latif, a former Marine and sword-fighting contract killer who only takes jobs he deems morally sound.
- Tariq utilized a hadith about honoring one's mother in the opening scene to encourage viewers to watch the rest of the action-drama.
- "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother," opens in select theaters on September 25 before expanding on October 9.
Mahershala Ali and Bassam Tariq are walking viewers through the first minutes of Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother before its limited theatrical run on September 25.
On Thursday (September 17), the actor-director duo provided background on the film’s opening scene, a hadith recited by actress Adia, who plays Fatiha, daughter of protagonist Latif, played by Ali.
In the hadith, Prophet Muhammad of the Muslim religion asks who deserves the best of him before hearing "your mother" three times, thus sparking the film’s title.
Tariq, who is Muslim, credited one of his earliest teachers with inspiring him to grab the attention of viewers within the first few minutes of a film.
"One of my early mentors, Jonathan Oppenheim, an incredible editor, he said that the first five minutes of the film, you're teaching the viewer how to watch the movie," Tariq says in the clip below. "This is the language of the movie."
Ali plays Latif, a religious former Marine and contract hitman who refuses guns, uses swords, and takes on job he considers to be morally justified. I
"There isn't any just, well, how much money am I making on this job?" Ali says. "There is always another element that is considered in any job or task that he takes on."
In the film, the death of Latif’s wife, Khadijah, marks a turning point where he becomes the sole parent of Fatiha, eight-year-old Qadir, played by Jahleel Kamara, and infant Aziza, who cannot digest formula. Tramell Tillman, John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito, Abubakr Ali and Tiffany Boone also star.
Ali and Tariq were previously set to collaborate on Marvel’s planned Blade reboot. Although the film’s development has fallen through the cracks, the two-time Oscar winner recently thanked the media enterprise for financially covering his year-long sword training, which he demonstrated in Your Mother.
Following its run in select theaters later this month, the film will have an expanded release on October 9.
