LAYLA M. World Cinema

Prolific Dutch director Mijke de Jong provocatively frames radicalization as an expression of teenage rebellion and idealism in her latest film, the tough but heartbreaking LAYLA M. Played with assured grace by newcomer Nora El Koussour, Layla is an 18-year-old daughter of middle class Moroccan immigrants in Amsterdam. A crush on devout Muslim Abdel and a need to demonstrate independence from her parents spark with burgeoning local Islamophobia to ignite a passion in Layla for religion. Convinced she can do more good in the Middle East than in school in the Netherlands, Layla looks for a way out. LAYLA M. tells its ripped-from-the-headlines story with realism and sensitivity that humanizes the faces behind the veils. — Gillian Horvat