Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bassam Tariq directs. Katelin Arizmendi behind the camera. Ian Chang scores. Cam McLauchlin cuts. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
• 2International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
• 3Directed by Bassam Tariq, shot by Katelin Arizmendi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by Ian Chang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Cam McLauchlin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Mahershala Ali and John Cho and Giancarlo Esposito carry the top of the cast.
• 7IMDB entry: tt35856037 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 6 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography

Katelin Arizmendi

Original score

Ian Chang

Editing

Cam McLauchlin

Production design

Akin McKenzie

Costume design

Deirdra E. Govan

Makeup / hair

Lawrence Davis

VFX supervisor

Craig Crawford

Sound

Damian Volpe

Stunt coordinator

Adam Hart

Runtime

112 min · 1h 52m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$223,194

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (2026) ↗

Also by

Bassam Tariq

• 
  These Birds Walk

  2012 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Bait

  2026 · ★ 6.6
• 
  11/8/16

  2017 · ★ 6.4
• 
  Mogul Mowgli

  2020 · ★ 6.3
• 
  Ghosts of Sugar Land

  2019 · ★ 5.5

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Clip: “I Taught You Better Than This”

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Clip: “You Know What I Need You to Do”

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Peace In Violence Featurette

  Behind the Scenes · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Clip

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Teaser Trailer

  Teaser · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Brent Marchant2026-10-01
  ★ 7/10

  Most crime thrillers are fairly formulaic in their attributes and narratives. Viewers could readily swap sequences from one movie to another and not really notice much of a difference. Every so often, though, a feature comes along that incorporates other, unexpected elements to help distinguish it from the pack, and this latest offering from writer-director Bassam Tariq is one such example. The notion that a devout man of faith could also be a cut-throat hitman almost seems too incongruous to be believed, yet Latif (Mahershala Ali) somehow manages to make that combination of traits work. Nevertheless, the limits of that juggling act get put to the test when his wife, Khadija (Shakirah DeMesier), passes away, leaving him a single father responsible for raising three children, the youngest of whom, Aziza (Brooklyn Hughes/Jaxon Hughes), can’t ingest baby formula and must subsist on breast milk, a difficult commodity to come by when one’s mother is no longer around. Latif’s faith is also put to the test when he wrestles with how Allah could allow his wife be taken away from him and her children so seemingly easily. But, in the midst of dealing with these personal challenges, there’s still work to be done, and Latif struggles to fulfill his obligations to his underworld kingpin boss, Mike Mahmoudi (Laith Nakli), and his oily nephew, Hatty (Abubakr Ali), a producer of pornographic films. Of late, the unsavory duo has come under attack by Pastor Hwan (John Cho), a born-again zealot who leads a right-wing fundamentalist movement that has assumed the task of ridding the world of negative influences like Hatty. Naturally, this places the preacher high on Mike’s list of targets for Latif’s services. However, as personal and professional story threads converge, events spiral out of control for Latif in both his work and on the homefront. He becomes caught in the crossfire – literally and figuratively – as he attempts to sort out matters, protect his family and stick to his religious convictions. And, as the story unfolds toward its climax, it takes some highly unexpected twists and turns of an otherworldly spiritual nature, definitely not the kind of developments one would see coming in a film like this. Needless to say, this is far from your typical crime drama. But what makes this release so unconventional is that the criminal element is not at the story’s forefront (and, in fact, isn’t always as well developed as it might have been, especially in terms of clarifying the connections among characters and how those relationships impact the overall flow of the narrative). The picture also could use some elaboration in the principals’ back stories (such as how did Latif develop the ninja-like proficiency he brings to his vocation and how did he end up in a line of work so seemingly contradictory to his devotion to Islam?). In addition, sensitive viewers should be aware of this offering’s sometimes-ample graphic violence on display. In contrast to these potentially troubling aspects, though, this release provides a wealth of enlightening insights into Islamic beliefs and parables, elements one would not expect to find here. In all likelihood, however, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother” is the kind of movie that viewers may have to sit with for a while after watching it (as I did), allowing some time to unpack what it has to say about faith, redemption, responsibility, loyalty and justice in both one’s personal affairs and one’s calling in life, no matter how one seeks to approach these matters for oneself.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Two & Two Pictures

  GB

• 

  Orion Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ProducerBassam Tariq
• ProducerLucan Toh
• ProducerBabak Anvari
• Production DesignAkin McKenzie
• Set DecorationJess Royal
• Costume DesignDeirdra E. Govan
• Unit Production ManagerKelley Sims
• First Assistant DirectorJoe Camp III
• Stunt CoordinatorAdam Hart
• Location ManagerChristine Bonnem
• Music SupervisorRob Lowry
• EditorCam McLauchlin
• Hair Department HeadLawrence Davis
• Production Sound MixerErik H. Magnus
• "A" Camera OperatorDanny Eckler
• Steadicam OperatorDanny Eckler
• Executive ProducerBrian M. O'Neill
• Special Effects Makeup ArtistMark James Ross
• Key Hair StylistElizabeth Robinson
• Art DirectionShawn D. Bronson
• Set Decoration BuyerKatie Boaen
• Assistant Art DirectorMichael Gowen
• Foley ArtistHeikki Kossi
• Sound Re-Recording MixerDamian Volpe

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• muslim
• hitman
• houston, texas
• single father
• contract killer
• protective father
• family and struggle

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2026-09-23· Beyond Fest
• Premiere2026-10-03· Mill Valley Film Festival
• Premiere2026-09-25· Nashville Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2026-09-25R· New York City, New York / Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical (limited)2026-10-02R· Limited expansion
• Theatrical2026-10-16R