Travelling across the country is the plot of plenty of coming-of-age films, but for Ahmed in the Son of Babylon, it’s a much more harrowing journey. It’s easy to see why writer-director Mohamed Al-Daradji would select this familiar plotline. There’s the inherent tragedy of his separation from his father, which triggered the trip in the first place, but after a war, the uncertainty, the hope, and the potential dangers easily drive the film forward. But it’s also a straightforward way for Al-Daradji to take a snapshot of the country as Ahmed and his grandmother get to know various characters along the way, getting to see how the war waged for Arabization affected different parts of the nation, but more so on the ordinary person. Son of Babylon treads familiar ground, but as Ahmed grows up through this journey, the film smartly parallels his coming of age to that of a changing country.

Most of the cast are non-professionals, but it works for this film, because the pain they feel feels real.