10 Vitriolic Films Built On Biting Satire

Political satire is a common thread among movie-makers and the next entry on the list, Four Lions, goes straight for the fallacy of modern terrorism. It does so by enveloping the viewer into the lives of its four main characters.

Omar (Riz Ahmed), Waj (Kayvan Novak), Barry (Nigel Lindsay) and Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) are all homegrown suicide bombers who all share a deep resentment of the UK's foreign interventions. The film's focus is right there in the title; these men all believe themselves to be noble fighters, but as their journeys take them to Pakistan and back again, the way they constantly have to flee only emphasises their cowardice.

Terrorism is certainly no laughing matter nowadays, but Four Lions works to blend the emotional plight of the characters with the horrors they plan to commit. The sheer senseless nature of jihadist terrorism is laid bare, particularly in the film's final moments, which hit a decidedly bleak note.

Interestingly, satirising jihadism and other terrorists is said to lessen and diminish their overall support, as the research organisation Demos pointed out in recent years. Similar tactics were used in filmmaking for both the Ku Klux Klan and the British Fascist Party many decades ago. Four Lions is no different.