You are here:

Foreign Prayer

Name: Foreign Prayer
Director: Akhtem Seitablaiev
Released: 2017
Duration: 92 min

Representation Score

6.9/10

Good

2017

Director

Akhtem Seitablaiev

Runtime

92 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Foreign Prayer is a sophisticated historical drama that uses the setting of Nazi-occupied Crimea to challenge traditional ethnic and religious hierarchies. By focusing on the intersection of Jewish and Tatar identities, the film explores how identity can serve as a tool for survival. The narrative stands out for its subversion of gender roles and its avoidance of standard romantic storylines. Instead, it emphasizes the role of a Muslim woman as the primary protector and moral leader. However, the film lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities and does not address disability issues.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Foreign Prayer have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film avoids traditional romantic subplots and focuses on communal survival. It prioritizes human connection through shared vulnerability rather than straight-centered relationships.

How does Foreign Prayer portray gender?

Good

Saide Arifova serves as the central leader, providing both moral and physical protection. By placing a woman in this decisive role, the film challenges the typical wartime narrative where men are the sole protectors.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Foreign Prayer?

Excellent

The film explores the integration of Jewish orphans into a Tatar Muslim community, offering a nuanced counter-narrative to more homogeneous historical stories. This focus highlights the complexity of ethnic and religious identities.

How does Foreign Prayer represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story critiques rigid nationalist ideologies by showing survival through the blending of religious and ethnic identities. It suggests that identity can be fluid when faced with extreme systemic pressures.

Does Foreign Prayer include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no specific evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the narrative.

Present on Screen

Offers exceptional depth through the blending of Jewish and Tatar identities.
Features strong female leadership, positioning a woman as the primary protector.
Critiques rigid cultural and religious boundaries effectively.

Limited or Absent

Does not include explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities.
Lacks focus on physical or neurodivergent disability representation.

Official Synopsis

Nazi-occupied Crimea, 1944. A boy named Itzhak turns to Saide Arifova, a local Tatar Muslim woman, for help, explaining that he and a group of other Jewish orphans are hiding from the Nazis. Arifova faces a moral dilemma: should she try to help them or save herself by refusing? Despite the impending danger, she decides to protect the children by hiding them in plain sight, and disguising them as Tatars and adopting them into the local community.

How are these scores produced? →