Towelhead, the Movie

As we have a Blockbuster on-line account and it has been a pretty dismal couple of years for feature films, my wife happened to pick up Towelhead, based on an employee recommendation and props for the director of American Beauty. I was intrigued myself, as the film’s premise is the coming of age story of a teenage girl, Jasira, with Lebanese heritage who struggles to integrate into US society.

My intrigue was quickly launched into shock and awe as the film opens very quickly. We learn that her American Mother and Lebanese Father are divorced. The Mother has a boyfriend who has crossed the line of appropriate interaction with Jasira and as a result she is sent to live with her father. To this insult the injury of a stern Father is added and Jasira finds herself without a family she can communicate with or friends in a new school system.

This leads to disturbing events in suburbia at a crucial age for girls. The film explores womanhood and sexuality with a gripping yet somewhat disturbing lens. As Jasira seeks out an identity she seems to be further estranged from her parents, while neighbors and classmates take a more active role in conditioning her value system.

The film ends as abruptly as it begins. At the end as a parent, I felt compelled to consider the relationship I want to have with my children. I struggle with the invisible line between a friend and a parent which sets the tone for the level of open conversation. Kids should have some level of privacy, but understand that disappointing one’s parents is less important than doing the right thing and asking for help when in a crisis. In my own life I have made bad choices well into middle age and had difficulty seeing life from the perspective of this thirteen year old.

If you have the stomach for it, I would argue it is a must see for anyway with foreign heritage. I would also argue against recommending it to your parents. I am fairly certain my Mom would be repulsed, but she has surprised me in the past.