Hyde Park Pick: Ish
A striking new coming-of-age drama
Martha Boyd
Of course, a film as breathtaking as this is a truly collaborative one, thanks to the work and commitment of so many talented people, even fuelled by the generosity of locals who fed the crew Lamb Biryani when they were filming. However, Perretta, in particular, has put so much into the film, drawing on his own childhood experiences and the beautiful relationships that glow especially brightly amid dark struggles with police injustice, grief, and the film's black-and-white palette. As well as directing and co-writing, Perretta also composed the film's soul-stirring score.
A film always goes up in my estimations when I know the people behind it are nice and well-intentioned. So let me assure you that is very much the case with Ish. We were lucky enough to host a preview Q&A screening with the director Imran Perretta, producer Dhiraj Mahey and Leeds-based sculptor and filmmaker Karanjit Panesar. It was a joy to hear from these three lovely, fascinating people about the equally wonderful Ish.
One of the many remarkable things about Ish is that its two 12-year-old protagonists are played by non-professional actors, Farhan Hasnat and Yahya Kitana, themselves friends since childhood. In some ways, this makes it particularly impressive that their performances are so brilliant, but also it makes sense that their characters feel so realistic since they really are friends. One of my favourite scenes is them saying an elongated goodbye after hanging out together. A perfect mishmash of affection and gentle ribbing which feels wonderfully real. So, it made sense when Perretta told us at the Q&A that this was an example of adlibbing the boys brought to the film. Perretta used a lovely metaphor to communicate to them how he’d like them to collaborate on Ish – he would provide the bowling bumpers as direction and, as long as the boys were on the same lane, they could bounce through it however felt natural and right.
The nuanced relationships between Ish and his best friend Maram, and Ish and his father, are particularly striking. It’s heartening to see a paternal character who doesn’t fit the usual trope of exploding at the smallest digression. He’s not without his flaws, but, unlike Maram’s dad, Ish’s dad is much more tender and patient. He gives Ish time and space to make his own mistakes. The scene where he puts a blanket over Ish and watches him sleep particularly moved me.
The black-and-white photography is stunning and allows us to look at Luton in a whole new light. Sadly, Luton has a bad reputation because of its association with Tommy Robinson, but Ish has resculpted the town for me and hopefully others. The stunning cinematography elevates its grandeur. It also feels as though it is in conversation with other classic black-and-white coming-of-age films like Bicycle Thieves, The 400 Blows and vivid social dramas like La Haine.
I found some of the time-stamped shots particularly interesting. With the rapid rise of AI, people have become increasingly wary of surveillance and how footage can be manipulated and used for ill. However, this threat of constant surveillance is not at all new to people of the global majority. The completely out-of-the-blue stop-and-search scene is a perfect example of what young boys like British Bangladeshi Ish and British Palestinian Maram have sadly had to put up with an outrageous amount in our country. So, while things are beginning to feel a little dystopian for all of us, sadly this unnerving feeling of being watched and the risk of CCTV footage being taken out of context is a threat immigrants and their children and their children’s children have had looming over them throughout British history.
Ish is a beautiful name, which Perretta said is why he was drawn to it. But as our Q&A host Panesar said, it also makes us think of the suffix ‘ish’ which has so much relevance to the film’s representation of identities. For example, how Ish is only allowed to feel sort-of British, because unlike his white neighbours, he doesn’t have the privilege of walking down his street without looking over his shoulder, constantly in fear of the police stopping him for doing absolutely nothing. And 12 is one of the most ‘ish’ ages of all, where you feel a strange in-between state of still being a child, but not wanting to seem childish while bordering teenage years. A stressful age for everyone but especially Ish, who’s experiencing grief, a friendship rift, and police racism.
Social dramas are some of the most at risk of veering into stereotype, often becoming at odds with the label of ‘social realism’ they’re given. However, the specificity of Ish makes it feel very worthy of the social realist title. It feels so real that I’m still worried for the boys and wanting to know what happens to them next. I’d love an Ish 2, just please please don’t let anything terrible happen to those boys. And please let us see more of their beautiful friendship.
What an exciting time for coming-of-age cinema! Ish, The President’s Cake and DJ Ahmet have stood out to me this year. Holy Cow and Good One were my favourites of last year. And Bird and Nickel Boys were my favourites of 2024. Highly recommend all of these, but Ish is especially made to be admired on the big screen, so catch it at HPPH from Fri 31 Jul.
