Yesterday After Tomorrow Review: Mixed Bag of Emotions

– No Spoilers –

When brothers Ma’an and Mazen and their widowed mother move into their childhood home, they are shocked to find a portal to a different dimension that takes them to the past when their father was alive. The brothers, who have never met their father, are initially delighted and try to make contact with him but soon realise that they have to find a way back to their mother. On the other hand, Sanaa, worried about her sons, decides to delve into their disappearance with the help of their best friend.

The problem with Yesterday After Tomorrow is that the principal characters whom we follow look bored and confused about what they are doing in the movie. Ahmed Saddam, who plays Mazen, looks so out of place and mostly bored and his character is one of a prehistoric man for whom rational thoughts are difficult. On the other hand, his brother Ma’an, of course, is the geeky one whose job is to think. Together they make for a cliched pair who should be more concerned about being stuck in the past than anything else. But daddy issues are real and this film makes that super clear from the get-go.

There is also a clear dissonance between an unfolding situation and the reactions of the characters throughout the runtime. Mazen, again, doesn’t feel like he is bothered at all that they are now in the past looking at younger them as well as their dead father. On the other hand, Sanaa, too, feels rather okay (maybe a bit confused) about watching her grown children in a home movie from when she had one of them in her womb. It’s very odd to watch and takes you out of the experience. Most of the time, the actors feel like they are reacting to stuff on the fly as if there was no prior preparation or guidance.

Coming to the story – it’s more about family and loving and accepting who you have than about sci-fi. The time travel thing isn’t given remotely any importance and we mostly follow the brothers trying to figure their past out while coming to terms with their relationship with each other and their mother. The pacing is slow and gets boring sometimes and there’s a ton of unnecessary moments that bog the runtime down. There are also comedy elements sprinkled into the mix but it doesn’t land for the most part and the characters’ annoying behaviour just makes it even more unwatchable sometimes.

However, there is warmth in Yesterday After Tomorrow and it’s funny at points. Mazen and Ma’an have the funniest moments, especially when they meet their father. Their journeys are also worth the watch sometimes and their love for their father and longing to get to know him is sweet. The little twists and the connections established between the characters are also quite interesting and when the movie tries to focus on the science-fiction aspects, it truly does an interesting and good job.

Yesterday After Tomorrow Review: Final Thoughts

There are glimmers of interest, intrigue, warmth and humour in this movie that make it a hoot to watch, especially with some very well-done emotional moments that the movie surprisingly doesn’t run out of. However, they are few and far between. A little more focus on character-building would’ve made for a far better watch, I am sure.

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