-Written by Michelle Vorob.
Know Your Place is a film by Zia Mohajerjasbi about Robel (Joseph Smith), a young Eritrean-American man, attempting to run an important errand for a sick relative.
Okay, there's a lot to unpack and Know Your Place is quite the complicated socio-economic slice-of-life story, so let me start by saying I went into it without having read the synopsis, not having any idea what to expect.
Robel is a young man of color, I'd say twenty-ish, because it's Autumn, but he and his friends aren't in school. They aren't working either, though. I suppose the boys could be in school, and these events could be taking place over a weekend or school break. Maybe I'm giving it too much thought, but Robel and his family all live in a very small apartment in Seattle. Robel doesn't even have a bedroom. His father has died in the past year and his family is struggling for money. On top of that, a sick relative in their home country needs help and Robel is tasked with bringing a suitcase full of medicine, supplies, and money to another relative's house, who will bring it with them when they travel home.
Know Your Place is so well done and so naturally acted that I was completely invested in Robel's story, despite not knowing that the technical plot was the delivery of the suitcase filled with supplies and money. Robel is a young man struggling to find his place, both in his family and in life. Additionally, as a young man of color, Robel and his friend, Fahmi (Natnael Mehbrahtu), face multiple encounters with [White] police and White strangers who accuse them of crimes and threaten their safety, all in one day, all while they are quite literally just existing. These are good boys. This is not a movie about gang violence or crime. Robel and Fahmi are simply victims of racial profiling and I had concern for their safety throughout most of the film.
Know Your Place certainly takes on an additional connotation, in light of the racial profiling. In addition, much of their neighborhood is being “gentrified,” which is pushing out people who will struggle to find a place elsewhere. Know Your Place shows us a mixed area of religion, ethnicity, race, and socio-economic standing, fraught with casual, Institutional racism, that has filtered its way into people's everyday behavior. These boys, who still look like kids, aren't even safe in their own neighborhood and at a few different points, I was convinced Know Your Place was going to show us how easily young men of color are killed by police. I suppose, in a sense, it did. It left me thinking about Robel and his family and if they would be okay, despite the fact that it was a movie, because it felt like real life.
Know Your Place isn't a typical film, but it's an excellent one.
Written and Directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi.
Starring Joseph Smith, Natnael Mebrahtu, Selamawit Gebresus, Esther Kibreab, Haileselassie Kidane, Tirhas Haile, Aaron Sahle, Selemun Welderfael, Shiwanesh G. Hagdu, Asmeret Gebremedhin, Genet Fitsum, etc.
8.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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