In 2024, women are still being stripped of their rights and bodily autonomy while subjected to a disproportionate amount of violence compared to men. Every day we see horrific headlines scroll across our televisions, mobile phone notifications, social media timelines, and simply walking down the street as we pass a newsagent. This real-life horror lends itself perfectly to, well, horror, as filmmakers and audiences alike turn to genre films to process some of the world's most complex and startling terrors.
Directed by Zarrar Khan, In Flames explores Pakistani culture, patriarchal customs, and morality in a taut ghost story that is hauntingly beautiful and startlingly sobering in equal measure. The film, which is Pakistan's official entry for Best International Film at the 2024 Academy Awards, tells the story of Mariam (Ramesha Nawal) following the death of her grandfather. Mariam, her mother Fariha (Bakhtawar Mazhar) and her younger brother Bilal (Jibran Khan) find themselves pressured by Uncle Nasir (Adnan Shah) to sign their apartment over to him, with Marian easily pressured as she navigates trauma from her past. As the film progresses, Mariam and Fariha find themselves desperately fighting against threats both real and supernatural in a male-dominated world threatening their agency.
In Flames finds its horrors in the every day, both in the lurking shadows in each scene as well as the slurs thrown at Mariam simply for existing as a woman. Sudden bursts of violence cut through the exquisitely beautiful cinematography painting a harrowing portrait of women's safety in Pakistan that hits closer to home than any supernatural events onscreen. Mariam is repeatedly failed by those around her including the police who should be keeping her safe, ratcheting up the tension as she becomes increasingly distressed by the events unfolding.
The delirious combination of ghostly phenomena, surreal visuals, and the unravelling of Mariam's trauma has a giddying effect as you watch, forcing audiences to question what they see to be true as Mariam's grasp on reality falters. The narrative is slow-burning with Khan allowing the audience time to soak in the family's story as it plays out, lingering in the seemingly mundane interactions from men towards Marian and Fariha which add to the oppressive tapestry that has become their existence as women in a society designed to break them down.
Despite its horror, In Flames is a moving ode to the plight of women in Pakistan that champions a message of togetherness and strength at its very core. Fariha and Mariam build a new life together following the death of the family's patriarch, recovering from their hardships while propping each other up in defiance against the male-centric norms which have ruled their lives.
Brutal and beautiful in equal measure, In Flames is a genre-bending psychological thriller which offers a nuanced look at female agency and rights in Pakistan, and indeed across the world through sensitive, bold performances from the ensemble cast and Khan's masterful tension-building and cinematography.
In Flames is released in cinemas on May 24.
