a social commentary into the lives of the immigrants in London, capturing their helplessness in the situation they are caught up in. Okwe is a Nigerian doctor-turned-illegal immigrant, and has to work 2 jobs simply to make ends meet. He is a strong character full of compassion for his fellow mates. He dismisses his plight as just another "African story" as he refuses to wallow in self-pity. Instead what drives him and the other central character, a Turkish chambermaid Senay, on, is hope. Hope for the future. Hope for a better life.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The story unfolds slowly, drawing us and directing our pity to Okwe. The dark undertones of the movie is obvious from the start. The movie settings shows only the the seedy ghettos and an impassioned hotel lobby. There is no villian in this show. The worst crimes people commit are just taking advantage of the situation. Senor Juan insists he is in the "happiness" business, and you can't really argue with that, except sometimes the organ transplant operations botch up. One thing to note : all the people who take advantage of the immigrants are also immigrants themselves. Senor Juan is from Spain, and the guy who runs the sweatshop seems to be Turk himself. This is not a statement exonerating british folks. It may simply be they are too apathetic to really interact, let alone, take advantage, of this underclass.
One bright ray in this dark movie is the Chinese character, who seems to be the only guy who appreciates Okwe as a friend, and offers his no-strings-attached friendship in return, with his own job at risk. But the movie fails to explain why this Chinese seems to be living a good life, as in the show, he drives a benz. The prostitute also appears out of nowhere to play an important role in the final part of the plan. Is she paid to do this? If so, why is there so much trust between her and Okwe?
It is difficult to see how Okwe, supposedly worldly-wise and hardened he is, is so shocked that organ transplant business is taking place. Another complaint is how the Social Security officers keep going after Senay. The amount of time they spend pursuing her and making sure she starve to death without a job, is ridiculous.
All in all, top class acting all round. Audrey Tautou has further enhanced her reputation as a versatile actress, totally at home with quirky roles, and I can quite rightly give her the female Johnny Depp tag. The story unfortunately lacks real passion. The feeling I get from this is just like watching any BBC documentary about the poor and the destitute. The major complaint of this show is soundtrack, using dissonant chords to create a dreamy yet cold atmosphere, like Punch Drunk Love. But the dissonance and loud drum basses get irritating after a while, again like Punch Drunk. Feels like a shorter, less emotional version of Cidade de Deus, the brilliant Brazilian social docu-drama.
Rating : 7.5
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The story unfolds slowly, drawing us and directing our pity to Okwe. The dark undertones of the movie is obvious from the start. The movie settings shows only the the seedy ghettos and an impassioned hotel lobby. There is no villian in this show. The worst crimes people commit are just taking advantage of the situation. Senor Juan insists he is in the "happiness" business, and you can't really argue with that, except sometimes the organ transplant operations botch up. One thing to note : all the people who take advantage of the immigrants are also immigrants themselves. Senor Juan is from Spain, and the guy who runs the sweatshop seems to be Turk himself. This is not a statement exonerating british folks. It may simply be they are too apathetic to really interact, let alone, take advantage, of this underclass.
One bright ray in this dark movie is the Chinese character, who seems to be the only guy who appreciates Okwe as a friend, and offers his no-strings-attached friendship in return, with his own job at risk. But the movie fails to explain why this Chinese seems to be living a good life, as in the show, he drives a benz. The prostitute also appears out of nowhere to play an important role in the final part of the plan. Is she paid to do this? If so, why is there so much trust between her and Okwe?
It is difficult to see how Okwe, supposedly worldly-wise and hardened he is, is so shocked that organ transplant business is taking place. Another complaint is how the Social Security officers keep going after Senay. The amount of time they spend pursuing her and making sure she starve to death without a job, is ridiculous.
All in all, top class acting all round. Audrey Tautou has further enhanced her reputation as a versatile actress, totally at home with quirky roles, and I can quite rightly give her the female Johnny Depp tag. The story unfortunately lacks real passion. The feeling I get from this is just like watching any BBC documentary about the poor and the destitute. The major complaint of this show is soundtrack, using dissonant chords to create a dreamy yet cold atmosphere, like Punch Drunk Love. But the dissonance and loud drum basses get irritating after a while, again like Punch Drunk. Feels like a shorter, less emotional version of Cidade de Deus, the brilliant Brazilian social docu-drama.
Rating : 7.5