‘Until The Birds Return’ Feels Flightless, Stale And Unfledged [Nd/Nf Review]

Writing in his book “The Wasted Vigil,” author Nadeem Aslam once said simply, but perfectly, “pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world.” The new drama “Until the Birds Return,” seems to directly draw from the author’s sentiments, but with a tethering never quite as inspiring as the original text.

Brimming with post-modern musings, ‘Birds’ (“En attendant les hirondelles”) explores modern-day Algeria with past and present generations coalescing to form three loosely connected stories: a wealthy property developer and his wife, a young woman torn between Arab tradition and her own ambitions, and a neurologist haunted by “wartime wrongdoings.” With these three vignettes, “Until the Birds Return” attempts to submerge its viewers into the heart of a contemporary Arab society while illustrating the mutuality of human existence.

Read full article