<em>'Zaman - The Man from the Reeds'</em> splits my thoughts. On the one hand, there isn't really enough plot here for a full length (albeit of the shorter variety) film and as such it never truly gets out of second gear. On the other hand, it is undeniably touching and the ending is poignant.

Sami Kaftan's lead performance is pleasant, it's impossible not to care about his character and the family's predicament. None of the other actors get much time to shine, as you'd expect given the story, but Shada Salim does enough to stick out ever so slightly behind Kaftan.

This narrowly gets a pass from me. The heart that is present throughout manages to keep it just about watchable.