Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames is a story of survival but will there be closure?

In Flames marks the cinematic debut for Canadian-Pakistani director Zarrar Kahn, with the movie’s North American premiere taking place at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 14. Produced by Anam Abbas, the film also earned a nomination at the TIFF’s People’s Choice Awards.

Set in present-day Karachi, In Flames delves deep into the complexities of family, trauma, and societal pressures, painting a haunting picture of the struggles faced by its female lead Mariam, and her mother Fariha.

Played by newcomer Ramesha Nawal, Mariam is shown grappling with the horrors of her everyday life, which are becoming more pronounced following the death of her maternal grandfather.

Shortly into the film, we begin to see how Mariam’s life is riddled with discomfort caused by menacing advances from men who operate in society without any fear of consequences for their actions. From her car windows being smashed to lewd acts targeted towards her, Mariam grapples with incessant harassment, all while wrestling with a sense of powerlessness.

Her grandfather’s passing is quickly followed by the entry of a previously-estranged uncle who tries to take over the family’s affairs. Nasir chacha appears benign, and Fariha (played by Bakhtawar Mazhar) believes as much, but Mariam isn’t convinced and not without reason – the man does try to hoodwink and occupy the apartment that Fariha, Mariam, and Fariha’s son, Bilal, live in; the deed being in her father’s name.

In this oppressive environment when Mariam crosses paths with the decent and kind-hearted Asad, it is a welcome break. Their evolving friendship offers her a glimmer of hope but then an accident happens which changes everything. Lines between reality and fantasy blur and Mariam experiences frequent fainting spells and nightmares. At this point, Fariha reaches out to Mariam in an effort to bond with her and help her, but in classic South Asian fashion, it becomes tough for the two to form that connection. Ultimately, however, in a heart-wrenching culmination of events, the two end up developing a profound relationship that helps them find strength in each other.

And while the film appears to conclude with the mother-daughter duo getting a victory of sorts over the predatory patriarch Nasir chacha, the systemic violence that they have had to endure, the violence that is embedded in the routine that constitutes their lives, and the violence that they have had to embrace just so they can protect themselves from the men in their surroundings is barely any consolation. In Flames, after all, is “a horror movie about the patriarchy” and while there is survival, there appears to be no closure. Perhaps one can hope that the mother and the daughter can help each other heal.

Ultimately, Kahn’s thought-provoking and visually striking piece, also the first Pakistan-set film to be selected for the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight since Jamil Dehlavi’s The Blood of Hussain was picked in 1980, explores a live problem — the cruelty and horror that’s inflicted by patriarchy on women and men both — with countless Mariams, Farihas, Asads, and Bilals as its victims.