Time of Impatience

“I will swim in that pool” becomes the battle cry for Kurdish twins Mizra and Mirhat (Mizra and Mirhat Zarg) who want nothing more than to spend hot summer afternoons taking a dip in the local pool that they pass on their way to school. Unfortunately for the boys, though, their target is situated in an affluent apartment complex, lying behind a high wall that’s on constant surveillance from the watchful security guard. At first, the children don’t understand why they face so much resistance from those on the other side of the wall, but they soon realise a large part of it has to do with a great class divide: they are poor and Kurdish, those allowed to swim are not.

In Time of Impatience, writer-director Aydin Orak crafts a joyously funny and insightful coming-of-age tale from the perspective of two mischievous children who are just coming to understand the world around them. Mizra and Mirhat Zarg are a constant delight. They are the perfect double act who steal the show with their excellent comic timing and exuberant energy. Always cracking jokes and butting heads with the pool’s dim-witted guard, these plucky underdogs will soon have viewers rooting for them.

As the twins learn valuable lessons from their teacher, family members and their own life experiences, they start to question why the world has to be this way. Their war for the pool becomes more than children wanting to have fun; it becomes a statement about standing their ground. This is where this film and Orak’s writing shines most, but this simple and effective premise is frustratingly bogged down with frivolous plot points that don’t amount to anything.

When the focus isn’t on the twins, it shifts to their teacher to paint a picture of classism within the education system. Though an important factor in the boys’ growing awareness, viewers already acquire a strong sense of this through how one teacher reacts to their Kurdish culture. These points consequently detract from the heart of this feature. Had the script focused solely on the boys’ battle for equality, Time Of Impatience could have so easily been far more entertaining and meaningful than it already is.

Andrew Murray

Time of Impatience does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Glasgow Film Festival 2022 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Glasgow Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Time of Impatience here: