Britzish Invasion

Holy Sheet. Just finished watching the Channel 4 (UK) two-part mini-series Britz (that was shown on BBC America in the states (and still available free on demand) and TVO in Ontario).

It's about two British-born Muslim siblings and their two very different paths in life. Part one follows brother Sohail (a mesmerizing and very hot Riz Ahmed) while part two follows sister Rasima (a lovely and delicate Manjinder Virk). I'll just leave it at that. But stay on until the end. I literally gasped out loud with a yelp.

(Some small spoilers ahead in my short discussion so read if you've watched and if you haven't seen it yet, try to seek it out if you can)

I noticed Riz Ahmed is in the new movie Rage with Jude Law, Judy Dench and a bunch of other stars, so it seems that someone has noticed and plucked him out for some bigger movies! He's totally mesmerizing in Britz and the first half plays like a sort of British Alias (well, or MI-5 I guess since it's about ... MI-5) but since a lot of the advertisements already spoil the final twist, I kind of knew what to expect.

The second part that follows sister Nasima and her slow involvement into the terrorist world is terrifying and real and at some points, I could totally understand her frustration and I loved that the series showed both sides of the war on "terrorism" or as many Muslims see it, as the Western world's war on Islam. Or as Riz sees it, a war to control the oil reserves using "terrorism" and "Islam" as an excuse. Truly disturbing and fascinating and as like many great British movies and series, they really get an inside look at "regular" folks dealing with an incredible situation.