Josh Appignanesi Movies

A devoted Muslim family man experiences a hilarious identity crisis after discovering that he was adopted at birth, and his real name is Solly Shimshillewitz. Mahmud Nasir (Omid Djalili) is still grieving the recent death of his mother when he finds his birth certificate, and learns he was born to a Jewish mother. In order to embrace his heritage, Mahmud seeks the advice of drunken cab-driver Lenny (Richard Schiff), whose crash course in Judaism is more quirky than kosher. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Josh Appignanesi's dark drama Song of Songs opens with Ruth (Nathalie Press), a young Orthodox Jewish woman, returning home to the London suburb of Hendon after a long stay in Israel, to tend to her dying mother (Julia Swift). Though initially ultra devout and behaviorally guarded, Ruth harbors a dark and disturbing past that includes erogenous interaction with her brother David (Joel Chalfen). It isn't long before the siblings' paths intersect, and what begins suggestively - with the two reading sensual passages from the Song of Solomon to one another in Hebrew and English - soon turns to full-blown eroticism. In time, David's openly hedonistic attitudes and Ruth's long-latent urges re-open the door to a renewed incestuous affair. Leon Lissek and Felicite du Jeu co-star; Appignanesi and Jay Basu co-authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi