9/11 changed things for a lot of people all around the world. For Mameet, a 17-year-old Pakistani living in New York City, this event caused others to look at him (and most other South Asians) a touch differently. Suddenly it was easier for him to get into trouble due to the fact that some authorities look at him as, “just another terrorist.” Fully exploring subject matter like this would have made for an interesting piece but unfortunately, “Punching at the Sun” is a wasted opportunity.
Even more conflicting for him is the fact that his brother was tragically murdered at a local convenience store the two worked at. This event spirals him into prominent anger mode, shutting everyone around him out, including his family and his newfound girlfriend.
At a local hip-hop club, Mameet goes to watch MC Uncle Sonny spin rhymes. Here, Sonny kicks out some heavy-handed lyrics about how the government stereotypes South Asian immigrants, thinking them all as threat. He makes statements about the ridiculousness of the multi-colored threat detector shown on the news everyday to judge just how much of a threat our country may be in at any given time without any kind of rhyme or reason. Off the stage, Sonny decides to become a role model for Mameet, who ultimately needs it since his brother’s death haunts him constantly putting him in a state of fear. This chaos drives him to pick up a gun in an attempt to fight off these demons haunting his mind.
“Punching at the Sun” spins some interesting concepts into a plain and uninteresting narrative. It’s the first feature by director Tanuj Chopra, and a bold attempt at that, if only some of these ideals were fully explored. There is a movie to be made tackling this subject matter; this one just doesn’t fully cut it.
