The road trip movie is made for Mad Libs. A group of [lonely outcasts] embark on a road trip to [get an abortion]; a pair of [struggling family members] hit the road to [blend the line between fiction and documentary filmmaking] — and that’s just the most recent crop of films about heading out in search of [all sorts of things]. Nadia Fall’s “Brides” plugs in some quite unexpected elements the ol’ road trip formula, with startling — and ultimately heartbreaking — results.
We don’t know exactly what Doe (newcomer Ebada Hassan) and Muna (an electric Safiyya Ingar) are up to when the film opens. Details from Suhayla El-Bushra’s script are initially slim, but it’s clear that “Brides” has plenty to share, particularly when Doe starts flashing back to memories of her mother (Yusra Warsama) and their complicated, seemingly painful life together.
The one telling note, issued early: We’re picking up Doe and Muna’s story in “England, 2014.”
Even for audience members with limited knowledge of the film’s plot, the time period and location will prick up some ears. In late 2014, UK teenager Sharmeena Begum left her home and traveled to Syria to become a “jihadi bride” for ISIL — or as we know it in the U.S., ISIS. It’s believed she had been encouraged on this quest by a pocket of ISIS-affiliated women known as the Sisters Forum. Two months later, three of her school friends joined her. But we don’t know this part of the story yet — or how it will intersect and impact Doe and Muna — we only know that these two BFFs are heading out of the country, giddy and a bit scared.
There are hints, of course, and initially the strongest parts of Fall’s film are these more nuanced sequences. A reliance on flashbacks of all stripes does rankle for the first half of the film, but they prove out in its final act (still, it’s tough going for awhile). The pair fill up on ice cream and burgers at the airport, readying for a plainer diet soon enough. They don’t mess with their phones the way teenagers do; when they do look at them, they look shy, even afraid. And the walk through airport security? Too long, the TSA too focused on them, seeing the color of their skin (Doe is from Somalia, Muna’s family came from Pakistan) or perhaps their names on their documents.
At the end of their flight to Turkey, we get more to work with: Doe and Muna are waiting for a woman named Hanan, a dreamy stranger they met on social media. A voiceover and flashes of Facebook let us into whatever she’s sold the pair. And Doe and Muna have bought it, waiting hours and hours in the dismal Istanbul airport for an escort who never comes, eventually deciding on yet another crazy choice on top of a myriad of them. They’re going to Syria, no matter what it takes.
Fall sustains many tonal expectations of the road-trip comedy and the coming-of-age tale, to startling effect, as Doe and Muna lie, steal, and wheedle their way through Turkey to reach the border. There’s a cracking bit involving securing bus tickets that eventually brings them into the orbit of a good-natured ticket seller (Cemre Ebuzziya), which leads to the sort of pulse-pounding action you feel a bit bad enjoying as entertainment (this is a compliment). The thorniness of Fall’s subject matter is always apparent; as she tries to balance dueling ideas, themes, and tones, “Brides” is at its most thrilling when the director pushes on those tensions.
Initially, that’s at odds with El-Bushra’s flashback-heavy script. As Doe and Muna make their way through Turkey, we’re often sent back to see how the girls have ended up here, with a disconcerting emphasis on Doe’s backstory (we learn more about Muna later, but Ingar is so dazzling to watch that it’s a real shame we have to wait for those moments). It’s not only Doe’s home life that lacks (her mother’s shifty boyfriend is of no help), it’s also her experience at school where her quiet nature and choice to wear the hijab pull her into the sightline of merciless bullies. She has some respite within the local Muslim community, especially when she starts spending time with the handsome and sweet Samir (Ali Khan), but we know all of this will eventually come to some sort of end, based on where Doe is now.
That may be a misdirect. While the present path of Doe and Muna is the more compelling portion of “Brides” — something unique and thought-provoking, a genuinely worthy addition to road trip movie canon — the steady build of their past is what proves to pack the real punch. Where are Doe and Muna now? We know, and we know how they got there, and even why, but in the film’s final act, Fall dares to explore more about who Doe and Muna were before. Who, not where or how becomes the key to unmasking “Brides,” and when we realize that in the film’s wrenching final moments, as it guides us firmly into a new direction, it’s impossible not to be moved.
Grade: B-
“Brides” premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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