MR. SADMAN
by Jaime Mendoza, Asia Pacific Arts Magazine

It’s 1990 in Baghdad, Iraq, before the first Gulf War. And there we see Mounir, a body double for Saddam Hussein, addressing a celebratory crowd.

Dressed in Saddam’s trademark fatigues and black beret, sporting a mustache and holding a side arm, the people cheer at Mounir, played by actor Al No’mani. The people love him. He really is Saddam. But all of that changes when Monir, while in character, is nearly cut by an assassin’s blade. The knife permanently scars his face and puts the kibosh on his “acting” career. Fired from his job with no prospects in sight, Mounir goes to the one place on Earth where exiles of every race and creed go to redefine themselves – Los Angeles, California.

Fair warning: watching Mr. Sadman does require the viewer to suspend one’s disbelief entirely. For one thing, it is hard to imagine how an Iraqi national like Mounir can magically go to Los Angeles and communicate with everyday people without uttering a word of English or Arabic. Even more improbable is a side plot where Mounir goes to a party, meets a beautiful S&M model played by Amanda Fuller, and then proceeds to do the vertical lambada without speaking to her.

Despite his speech impediment, Mounir manages to befriend the local residents at the motel where he resides, including his friend/film agent Stevie (played by Scoot McNairy) and the motel manager Juan Carlos (played by Rudy Ramos). All the while, Mounir is in hot pursuit by FBI Agents Wang (Tim Kang) and Johnson (Cameron Bender) who wish to question him regarding his time spent as a Saddam body double.

For the remainder of the film, Mounir does his best to get rid of the Saddam Hussein look by dressing up as other characters. In one notable scene, Stevie does everything to exploit Mounir’s Saddam look by negotiating an acting job for him. The night before the shoot, however, Stevie makes the mistake of showing Mounir a Bruce Lee movie. Inspired by the movie, Mounir becomes Bruce Lee, going postal during the shoot, and eventually getting tasered.

The film falls into this simplistic formula, which includes Mounir assuming a new identity, making a total fool of himself in front of strangers, and getting bailed out by his newfound friends while avoiding the FBI. Don’t get me wrong. Al No’mani’s comedic performance is funny in many instances, and the audience automatically knows he will jump from one awkward situation to the next. However, without a compelling story, the film relies solely on the comedic performances of Al No’mani and company to make or break the film. And that itself is a bit of a gamble considering comedy is either hit or miss.

But I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed the film. The cast had their funny moments, and Goh Nakamura’s theme song “Song for Mr. Sadman” struck a cord with me. If this is the shape of things to come from newly minted director Patrick Epino, I can’t wait to see what his next film entails.

Ultimately, Mr. Sadman delivers what it promises: presenting a dark comedy about the face of evil who just wants to be loved. And isn’t that what we all want?

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