Dangerous Values: A Film Review of The Reluctant Fundamentalist

ABSTRACT In a time when truth and values are under assault, Mira Nair’s 2012 political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist gives new meaning to the current situation. It describes a young Pakistani man, Changez, who leaves his home (and soul) behind to pursue the American dream. He attains a high position with a big corporation that acquires failing businesses. In the course of his work a business owner reminds Changez (meaning change) of all he left behind—traditional values, his father’s poetry, a loving family, and his native religion. He gives up his American success and returns home where an attempt is made to recruit him into an extremist religious group. Torn between Western material values and an extreme religious movement, Changez asks himself, “What is real?” This is a numinous place where the confluence of opposites must be reckoned with. Changez’s story follows the hero’s journey with all the same challenges involved in the process of individuation. He exemplifies much of the conflict many people are facing in a very polarized politico-religious environment. The result is somewhat disturbing, but at the same time the film masterfully portrays the tumultuous path one often must take in finding their real self.