There are IPs which hide their allegories and metaphors so well that they end up being hugely misunderstood. Some of the most popular examples are Starship Troopers (which wasn’t just about killing big bugs), Fight Club (which wasn’t just about fighting), and Inception (which wasn’t just about planting ideas through dreams). But on the other side of this spectrum are stories which, despite its best intentions, end up reestablishing the various stereotypes they want to challenge. For example, the glorification of vigilantism in villain origin movies or shows, the push for changing one’s physical appearance in almost every rom-com in existence, the military propaganda in every other Marvel outing, and the list goes on. Based on the first two episodes, Countrymen (or Jordbrukerne) has the potential to go either way. You’ll see why.
The show, directed by Izer Aliu, Aurora Gossé, and Brwa Vahabpour, and written by Aliu and Bjørnstad, follows Khabib (Arben Bala), Adil (Ayaz Hussain), Tariq (Jonas Strand Gravli), Marwan (Nader Khademi), and Marwan’s daughter Kiki (Erika Strand Mamelund) as they make their way to a farm in the countryside for reasons that aren’t very apparent. Well, Khabib, Adil, and Tariq’s plans are kind of opaque, whereas Marwan’s is pretty clear. He is running away with his daughter after losing the battle for her custody with his in-laws. Which, as you can see, is pretty problematic, but it’s tackled in a rather light-hearted and endearing manner, with the focus being on Kiki’s adorable nature and chemistry with her father figures. Hence it’s digestible. The thing that borders on bigotry is the insinuation that Khabib, Adil, and Tariq are in fact terrorists.
For a significant chunk of Countrymen, the showrunners illustrate in a witty fashion how difficult it is for the Muslim community to function in a predominantly White society. They are racially profiled. They suffer due to systemic oppression and therefore have to choose between gentrification and accepting the stereotypes that come with their upbringing. Simultaneously, it urges the Muslim community to introspect about some of the dated customs that do not have any modern applications and only exist for the sake of gatekeeping. Through Tariq, the show talks about conversion and how it perpetuates a different kind of discrimination. Through Kiki, it subtly comments on gender roles and how the younger generation is more prone to questioning the status quo. And through the overall vibe of the town, it generates a sense of hope that there are places on this planet untouched by prejudices, where people can live together and help each other grow.
In addition to all that, Countrymen boasts of some of the best visual storytelling in a comedy show since Fleabag. It gives a peek into every character’s mind by breaking the fourth wall through asides. Yes, just like the ones you see in stage plays. And they do seem theatrical in nature because those bits are shot against a set that doesn’t appear as a physical location in the show. There’s some exquisite camerawork and shot composition by DOP Łukasz Zamaro to elicit laughter. At times he uses a sped-up dolly forward shot to reveal a bit of information that wasn’t visible or audible to the characters. Other times, he just observes from afar, allowing characters to pop up in the frame oh-so-hilariously. All that said, it’s the editing by Aliu, Rodrigo Stoicheff, Lars Nerdal, Cathrine Svae-Johansen, and Mirja Melberg that makes Countrymen a cohesive affair, alternating between swift cuts as well as uncut bits which are punctuated by the confused rustling of the characters’ clothes to tickle your funny bone.
However, it remains to be seen if Countrymen manages to get out of the corner it has put itself into by merely hinting that its Muslim characters are terrorists, making a bomb in a quaint countryside town, thereby reinforcing the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists. That is a tough spot because even if the show manages to give them a redemption arc as they realise that their ways are wrong, all it says is that they were immoral terrorists and now they have discovered an acceptable sense of morality. Which is something that sounds great but is actually awful because it still implies that all Muslims are terrorists by default. It’s hard to understand why they went with this angle, potentially risking all of the talent and craft on display. But since they did, here’s to hoping that there’s a good, non-bigoted reason for it.
