Lamya's Poem

Though geared toward families, Lamya's Poem is a complex and emotional animated movie with heavy themes. Emotions touch on anger, sadness, loss, desire for revenge, and forgiveness. The story unfolds through three different tracks. In one, Lamya has lost her father in the violence of the Syrian war. The frequent bombings force her and her mother to flee and take refuge in another country. In the second path viewers meet Rumi, a young poet forced to leave his country after the Mongols invade. He feels anger about being forced to leave his life behind and desires revenge. His father encourages him to pour his emotions into his poems and drive the feelings of hate away. Finally, the dreamland track shows both Lamya and Rumi together battling monsters that parallel the hardships they're facing in real life. The story is creative in how it brings the two Syrian children together, especially in the climax featuring real poems by Jalaluddin Rumi and how his words inspire people hundreds of years later.

The multiple storylines make the movie complicated but not impossible to follow. The film manages to shed light on a tough topic in a way that's gentle enough for families with older or more mature children to understand. It offers an opportunity for families to discuss refugees and displaced people, how they might act if faced with similar circumstances, and how they might have more compassion than some people show in the movie.