Michael Winterbottom's docudrama gives us a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes when people try to emigrate to better their lives. He worked with non professional actors. It is a wonder he was able to capture so candidly the world in which the would be immigrants live and what motivates them to leave a land where no opportunities exist.
The father of Enayat was naive in thinking that because his son wanted to go to London, it was going to be an easy proposition. Little did he know what Enayat and Jamal must go through before they arrive at the final destination. In a way, one wonders whatever Enayat must have thought he would encounter in London, not knowing the language, or not being as swift as Jamal turns out to be.
In a way one must have to admire such determination in someone as young as these two Afghan friends. They live in a primitive society but it is obvious that they realize there is a big world out there where one can make a living with better conditions.
The film becomes a road movie about all the difficulties Jamal and Enayat encounter along the way. There is also a tragedy that we were not prepared to witness, but in a lot of ways, it's a tremendous positive film, one that presents us a young man of such resolution that shows us he will be a survivor, no matter what.
The father of Enayat was naive in thinking that because his son wanted to go to London, it was going to be an easy proposition. Little did he know what Enayat and Jamal must go through before they arrive at the final destination. In a way, one wonders whatever Enayat must have thought he would encounter in London, not knowing the language, or not being as swift as Jamal turns out to be.
In a way one must have to admire such determination in someone as young as these two Afghan friends. They live in a primitive society but it is obvious that they realize there is a big world out there where one can make a living with better conditions.
The film becomes a road movie about all the difficulties Jamal and Enayat encounter along the way. There is also a tragedy that we were not prepared to witness, but in a lot of ways, it's a tremendous positive film, one that presents us a young man of such resolution that shows us he will be a survivor, no matter what.