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Know Your Place Review: A Beguiling but Uneven Portrait of an Eriterian American Family

In his feature debut, filmmaker Zia Mohajerjasbi shows a knack for believable characters and an eye for urban locations.

Set in Seattle, “Know Your Place” follows 15-year-old Eritrean American Robel Haile as he navigates the city running an errand for his mother. Writer and director Zia Mohajerjasbi has a deft eye capturing the idiosyncracies of an immigrant community that lives like one big extended family in this Northwestern metropolis. He conjures full portraits of the characters in the story, though he’s not always in command of the rhythm of the narrative. This combination makes for a touching if uneven viewing experience. 

Robel (Joseph Smith) lives with his mother Amuna (Selamawit Gebresus), his elder sister Fayven (Esther Kibreab) and his ailing grandfather (Haileselassie Kidane). There is no other paternal figure, and the film hints at the day-to-day struggle of this immigrant family. When they receive a late-night call from Eritrea asking for urgent help, Amuna tasks Robel with delivering a heavy suitcase full of medicine and some money across town destined for a sick family member back in their homeland.

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His friend Fahmi (Natnael Mebrahtu) accompanies him, and along the way, they run into helpers and hindrances, meet an array of characters and situations that delay their arrival at their intended destination. Over the course of this journey, Mohajerjasbi depicts a young man torn between two realities, one within an empathetic extended family and another in the alienating big city. 

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It’s within that extended family that “Know Your Place” finds its most interesting sections. It presents the chaos and love of a big community. There are obligations and unmet expectations but also love, merry times and good food. There are interfering relatives who judge and admonish, as well as friends who care and help navigate messy situations. The film slows down a few times to present new characters that add multitudes to this community portrait, even if they do not push the narrative forward. Those moments feel earned and make the story stronger and more cohesive. 

However, the languid pace also leads to a repetitiveness that mars Robel’s journey. There are too many stops and starts as Robel and Fahmi make their way across town. Some of the characters they encounter have more than a whiff of stereotyping and do not always make for believable people. There are too many scenes of Robel and Fahmi ambling about that don’t add much. The actors made their bond and their disaffection clear within the first few scenes. Later, the film takes too much time to arrive at its conclusion, as if it was looking for a happy absolution that it couldn’t reach. 

Through it all, Smith navigates his character’s many heavy situations with a careful and considered performance. In particular, he builds credible relationships with Gebresus as his mother and Kidane as the grandfather suffering from dementia. In a later scene, Smith and Kidane show a complete history of this family in an emotional but economical scene with very few words. It’s just their faces looking at each other and their bodies tenderly holding each other. Gebresus fills the frame with open-hearted love even when her character is exasperated or frustrated, hinting at how this family stays a strong unit despite the daily struggles.

Nicholas Wiesnet’s camera sensitively captures the streets and back alleys of Seattle, while his lighting catches almost every flicker of emotion on the actors’ faces. As a debut feature, “Know Your Place” suggests an intriguing career for Mohajerjasbi. The filmmaker knows how to build honest relationships between his main characters. His direction of the actors is patient and allows them space to be utterly beguiling. However, “Know Your Place” stumbles when trying to encompass too much story and doesn’t always give its smaller characters the level of nuance it affords the leads. Despite that, it remains alluring and does not lose audience investment in its characters. 

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‘Know Your Place’ Review: A Beguiling but Uneven Portrait of an Eriterian American Family in Seattle

Reviewed online, Aug. 15, 2024. Running time: 119 MIN.

  • Production: A Blue Harbor Entertainment release of a Tycor International Film Company presentation, in association with The Midnight Bodega Society. Producers: Ty Walker, Zia Mohajerjasbi. Executive producers; Zia Mohajerjasbi, Josh Peters, Harry Calbom, Samira Gagné Ludwin, Adam Ludwin. Co-executive producers: Paul Javid, Shamim Sabeti, Rebecca Parenteau, Nika Parsa, Dhabih Eng, Tana Eng, Ata Moshiri, Nima Parsa, Roya Parsa.
  • Crew: Director, writer: Zia Mohajerjasbi. Camera: Nicholas Wiesnet. Editor: Marty Martin, Zia Mohajerjasbi. Music: Richard Skelton.
  • With: Joseph Smith, Natnael Mebrahtu, Selamawit Gebresus, Esther Kibreab, Haileselassie Kidane, Tirhas Haile, Aaron Sahle. 

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