A Stray

2016 American film
  • March 14, 2016 (2016-03-14) (South by Southwest)[1]
Running time
82 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguagesEnglish
Somali

A Stray is a 2016 American drama film starring Barkhad Abdirahman.[2][3][4][5]

Plot

A young Somali man named Adan (played by Barkhad Abdirahman) is kicked out of his home and must survive on the streets of his hometown, Minneapolis. He begrudgingly befriends a stray dog, which brings him companionship. However, it also brings Adan further exile from his family, his friends, and his community, as caring for a dog as a pet may be seen as haram for Muslims,[6] especially in Somali culture. The film explores loneliness and belonging with intimate shots of Minneapolis seen through the eyes of a downtrodden Somali immigrant.

Cast

  • Barkhad Abdirahman as Adan
  • Christina Baldwin
  • Ifrah Mansour
  • Faysal Ahmed
  • Fathia Absie
  • Ismael Abdullahi

Reception

The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] Omer M. Mozaffar of RogerEbert.com awarded the film four stars.[8] Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press awarded it three and a half stars.[9] Colin Covert of the Star Tribune gave the film three and a half stars out of four.[10]

However, the film received a negative review from Thaddeus McCollum and Cameron Meier of Orlando Weekly; they awarded the film one and a half stars out of five.[11]

References

  1. ^ Lussenhop, Jessica (27 October 2016). "A Stray: Finding and filming the real Somali immigrant experience". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  2. ^ Harvey, Dennis (29 March 2016). "Film Review: 'A Stray'". Variety. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  3. ^ Sealy, Shirley (20 October 2016). "Film Review: A Stray". Film Journal International. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  4. ^ Murthi, Vikram (11 October 2016). "'A Stray' Exclusive Trailer: A Somali Refugee In Minneapolis Befriends A Stray Dog". IndieWire. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  5. ^ DeFore, John (22 October 2016). "'A Stray': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Chapter: Using A Dog For Hunting And Other Than That". Sunnah.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. ^ "A Stray". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  8. ^ Mozaffar, Omer M. (21 October 2016). "A Stray". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  9. ^ Hewitt, Chris (18 October 2016). "'A Stray' gets right the story of a man, a dog and 'trying to do the right thing'". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  10. ^ Covert, Colin (14 October 2016). "Somali actor shines in Minneapolis-filmed drama 'A Stray'". Star Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  11. ^ McCollum, Thaddeus; Meier, Cameron (19 April 2017). "6 movies to skip at the 2017 Florida Film Festival". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

External links