In Flames

In Flames is one of those films that ostensibly looks like a ghost story and a tale with supernatural overtones but below the surface is telling another story and one potentially far more frightening.

Following the death of Grandfather Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) and her family are left with nothing more than the flat in Karachi. With her mother Fariha (Bakhtawar Mazhar) and brother Bilal (Jibran Khan) they are now being ‘helped’ by mysterious uncle who has taken on the role of patriarch providing financial advice with papers to sign.

Amidst this Mariam is continuing with her studies and being subtly courted by fellow student Asad (Omar Javaid). She also not so subtly admonished for driving a car – a stone is thrown at her – and comments about her not being married. All this is starting to tell on her mentally with nightmares and hallucinations.

Writer and director Zarrar Khan uses the structure of the fantastical to tell a potentially more challenging film about the predicament for women and young people in Pakistan. So we have comments about Mariam out on her own, not yet married, driving and in the presence of men having to keep a respectable distance apart. Then there are the legal issues that beset the family as the uncle sets about abusing his now patriarchal position.

A terrible accident begins to haunt Mariam though she recognises the figure she has difficulty understanding whether the presence is malign or not. It’s a powerful performance from Nawal as she juggles family, study and cultural matters. She respects them all just not so easy to reconcile some. The freedom of an education while respecting cultural conventions start to appear incongruous within the lives of young adults and their expectations.

Overall the film is not quite as spooky and dread filled as suggested but luckily its doesn’t come over as a full-on polemic. There’s an uneasy balance with the two though by no means an endurance test for the viewer.

In Flames received its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival 2024.