by Alexander Kingsford Mortensen

UTS Short Film Review: Angrezee

Written by Alexander Kingsford M Poster Design by Misra Imran Khan & Elby Chai

Wow! Angrezee (2022) is a beautiful short film sharing an intimate story of an immigrant family living in Australia. Running only 16 minutes long, the film focuses on the struggles of Fahab, a father trying to adapt to a new way of life for his daughter Sufi. We watch as the protagonist tackles the bizarre nuances of Aussie slang and the complicated English language while raising his daughter as a single parent in a foreign country.

Stunningly filmed, Angrezee allows its audience to understand a perspective of immigrant parents raising children with two cultures: one of their birthright and one of the land that they live. In this case, Sufi, who now is enrolled in school, lives with two cultures: one from her Pakistani father and the society she grows up in. Kids like Sufi grow up with a new perspective, one of multiculturalism. This is eloquently explained by a supporting actress:

“I am the right puzzle piece in the wrong jigsaw box. I complete the puzzle, but I change the picture.”

Throughout the Angrezee, language plays an essential role. Scenes are seamlessly edited and overlaid with static noise signifying how complex learning a new language can be. While traditional learning fails Fahad, we watch him use various avenues to understand the English language, such as watching American sitcoms. Scenes like these help the audience to not only sympathize with the struggles of the protagonist but of any individual assimilating to Australia culture.

Not all moments of Angrezee carry a serious tone. Like I mentioned previously, Fahad watches and learns from TV. The show where both Fahad and Sufi bond and learn English is an American sitcom: Cashmere Kids — a show that reflects the people in their lives. The characters in this sitcom crack jokes about their cultural backgrounds with canned laughter and corny 80/90s TV music. Cashmere Kids brings moments of comic relief complementing Angrezee’s defining topic of asssimilation and multiculturalism.

Honestly, after watching Cashmere Kids, I’m upset that there wasn’t a show like it on air when I was growing up watching ABC or SBS. I think there NEEDS to be a YouTube spinoff series of Cashmere Kids.

The editing, at times, is reminiscent of techniques used by my favourite film director: Wes Anderson. This can be seen from the transitions between scenes from the past and present — square and rectangle-framed scenes. Again, much like Anderson, who works closely with a colour palette, the scenes are meticulously staged and perfectly palleted with tans, browns, and various colours of beige making Angrezee very pleasing to watch.

Lastly, there is something about the curated soundtrack of Angrezee that I quite like. In the beginning the soundtrack is light and gives scenes a nostalgic feel. The calming piano gives both scenes of the past and present a charming and intimate feeling. Whereas the flute music in the background of the fruit market is whimsical, but it quickly changes to a fiery remix energising the audience alongside Fahad in his pivotal moment of metamorphosis.

I loved watching this film! I’ll be raving about it for a while. It’s such an intimate take on a shared story people should be watching here in Australia. My only note is that I wish the last phone call ended in cheers.