Lamya’s Poem Parent Guide

The Syrian civil war rages but 12-year-old Lamya (Millie Davis) and her widowed mother (Aya Bryn Zakarya) live quietly in the city of Aleppo. Lamya plays with her friends, texts on her phone, and enjoys regular visits from Professor Hamadani, an elderly teacher who tries to provide education for as many children as possible. Lamya is one of his star pupils and he gives her a treasured book by Rumi, a famous 13^th century poet. She is intrigued by the poems, so when a bomb levels their neighborhood, his book is one of the treasured possessions that goes with her on a perilous journey to Europe.

Born Jalal al-Din (Mena Massoud), the poet now referred to as Rumi knew what it was to be a refugee. In 1220, the city of Samarkand was attacked by the Mongols, forcing his family to flee across central Asia. Jalal al-Din struggles with rage against the invaders and a desire to fight back – with the sword; not the pen alone. His father reminds him that he was born a writer for a reason: “Someone, somewhere needs your words. If not today, then tomorrow. If not here, then perhaps in a place you can hardly imagine.” The words are prophetic because Rumi will become Lamya’s guide through her own perilous journey.

Lamya isn’t only aided by Rumi’s published poems. The two young people repeatedly meet in a dreamscape where they talk to one another, revel in idealized landscapes, and battle monsters. To some extent the dreamscape represents their real-world experiences of war and peril but it also explores their inner worlds of anger, fear, pain and hatred. (It should be noted that all of these locations feature some violent and disturbing scenes, making this movie unsuited for kids. The film doesn’t have an MPA rating, but it should be rated PG-13.)

Few films have caused me as much frustration as Lamya’s Poem. The plot is intriguing, weaving together refugee experiences across the centuries. The script also delivers excellent messages about loss, love, forgiveness, kindness, and emotional resilience. And, of course, exposing audiences to the words of the great poet is a plus and will hopefully encourage people to seek out more of Rumi’s poems.

Sadly, Lamya’s Poem doesn’t live up to its source material. The animation is painfully bad, with jerky movements and flat, uninspired renderings. This is a story that deserves magical animation that will enchant us and draw us into the emotional heart of the story. Instead, we get humdrum, unconvincing work that, weirdly enough, is only convincing in night-time scenes. I’m also going to raise my pet peeve, which is the design of the dreamscape. For some reason, the city has a steampunk aesthetic, complete with airships. With an entire world of glorious Muslim art to choose from, why on earth would the film’s visual designers go with a steampunk look? I like the style, but it doesn’t belong here.

As if the backgrounds weren’t annoying enough, the movie also suffers from pacing issues. It bounces back and forth between the modern world, the 13^th century, and the dreamscape - often randomly. It’s both odd and disappointing that a film about a man’s magical words should be so pedestrian and dull.