This week’s movie of the week is the British film, ‘The Reluctant Infidel’. This was a clever, refreshing, wise and at times very funny film. The film is director Josh Appignanesi’s adaptation of David Baddiel’s book.

It’s a great scenario. The main character is Mahmud Nasir (Omid Djalili), a middle-aged Muslim cab driver who does the London circuit. He’s a very regular sort of guy. A family man with wife and kids. Proud to be a Muslim but isn’t overly religious. For one thing, he’s known to have a drink or two.

Mahmud’s life is coasting along pretty nicely thank you until a few things happen to completely shake his life up. His son Rashed (Amit Shait) announces that he wants to marry his girlfriend, who just happens to be the daughter of Ashed El Masri, (Yigel Naor), a Muslim religious fanatic. Rashed insists that Mahmud needs to meet El Masri to agree to the marriage.

Worse happens to Mahmud when he goes back to his original family home to sort through things after his mother’s passing. Mahmud discovers his original birth certificate. He’s astonished to find out not only that he has been adopted but also that he was born Jewish!

Mahmud’s intrepid narrative journey is to try to come to terms with this news and everything that goes along with it! It’s a story that could have been played for drama or for laughs with Baddiel going for a broadly comic approach.

There are some great comic scenes mainly featuring Mahmud’s times with former foe and now friend another London cabbie, Lenny Goldberg (Richard Schiff), who takes the job on to educate Mahmud in the Jewish way. Mahmud’s journey proceeds in an unpredictable way but comes to a satisfying resolution.