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Review: London River (2009)
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Mark R. Leeper
Mar 8, 2012, 4:11:02 PM3/8/12
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LONDON RIVER
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: In London two people from very different
backgrounds forge an alliance when each looks for
his/her child in the aftermath the July 2005 terrorist
attacks. Though the arc of the story is fairly
predictable, Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate bring
humanity to their roles. The points that LONDON RIVER
loses from its predictability it gains back for two
terrific performances. Franco-Algerian filmmaker Rachid
Bouchareb gives us a moving story of two cultures in
conflict and of the human understanding that can rise
above that conflict. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Elizabeth (played by Brenda Blethyn) is from a small community on
Guernsey in the Channel Islands and is used to being around people
like herself. Though well-meaning, she is provincial and
suspicious of people she is unused to, especially people like the
large population of Muslim immigrants moving into London. Her
daughter Jane lives apart from her in London, but Elizabeth has not
even visited her daughter's current apartment. Then come the July
7, 2005, terrorist attacks on London transit. Elizabeth wants to
be sure that Jane was not caught up in the terror. Calling Jane
repeatedly, Elizabeth hopes to hear that her daughter is safe, but
gets no response. She determines she must go to London and find
Jane.
What Elizabeth discovers in London only adds to her fears. She
finds Jane's apartment is in a mostly Muslim neighborhood. To her
shock she finds out that her daughter not only has been living with
a Muslim man, Ali, but she was herself studying to become a Muslim.
Elizabeth makes up a missing-person poster to try to locate Jane.
She discovers that after the bombing there are many missing people
and many such posters are going up on kiosks around the city. But
through the poster she meets Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) who turns
out to be the father of Ali.
Ousmane is a West African searching for his son just as Elizabeth
is searching for Jane, but Ousmane does not know even what his son
looks like. Ousmane has worked in France the previous fifteen
years and has not seen his son since Ali was age six. Now the boy
is really a stranger to him, but he has to find him. She
repeatedly runs into Ousmane, her daughter's boy friend. Elizabeth
is highly suspicious of this man of a different race and religion
who wears dreadlocks and dresses so shabbily and differently from
what she is used to. She blames Ousmane's son and Muslims in
general for enticing Jane to change religions. Even more
complicating (or perhaps un-complicating) her distrust is the
knowledge that the transit attacks were done in the name of Ali's
religion.
The arc of the story by director Rachid Bouchareb is simple and
generally predictable from the beginning. It is almost cliche.
But the story rises above cliche by centering on and making very
human the relationship of these two so-very-different people on so
similar a mission.
Sotigui Kouyate has played the West African stranger in a strange
land before. In 2001's LITTLE SENEGAL he played a man sent to the
United States by a vision in his dreams. That film, also directed
by Rachid Bouchareb, has Kouyate bewildered by the strange life of
New York City. His performance is usually an expressionless face
and a stoic demeanor that speaks volumes by letting the viewer
decide what he is feeling. He has a very deep sorrow that in
addition to not knowing where his son is, he does not really know
even who his son is. His quiet desperation and introspection
contrasts with Blethyn's more than out-in-the-open manner. Her
obsession with her own problems borders on rudeness particularly to
the father of her son's lover. Yet each provides their
relationship something the other person needs.
There is never much doubt where the story is going. But the
contrast of personalities, of cultures, and of needs gives this
drama its humanity. I rate London River a high +2 on the -4 to +4
scale or 8/10. LONDON RIVER is available on DVD and for digital
download as of March 6, 2012.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227787/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/london_river/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
LONDON RIVER
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: In London two people from very different
backgrounds forge an alliance when each looks for
his/her child in the aftermath the July 2005 terrorist
attacks. Though the arc of the story is fairly
predictable, Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate bring
humanity to their roles. The points that LONDON RIVER
loses from its predictability it gains back for two
terrific performances. Franco-Algerian filmmaker Rachid
Bouchareb gives us a moving story of two cultures in
conflict and of the human understanding that can rise
above that conflict. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Elizabeth (played by Brenda Blethyn) is from a small community on
Guernsey in the Channel Islands and is used to being around people
like herself. Though well-meaning, she is provincial and
suspicious of people she is unused to, especially people like the
large population of Muslim immigrants moving into London. Her
daughter Jane lives apart from her in London, but Elizabeth has not
even visited her daughter's current apartment. Then come the July
7, 2005, terrorist attacks on London transit. Elizabeth wants to
be sure that Jane was not caught up in the terror. Calling Jane
repeatedly, Elizabeth hopes to hear that her daughter is safe, but
gets no response. She determines she must go to London and find
Jane.
What Elizabeth discovers in London only adds to her fears. She
finds Jane's apartment is in a mostly Muslim neighborhood. To her
shock she finds out that her daughter not only has been living with
a Muslim man, Ali, but she was herself studying to become a Muslim.
Elizabeth makes up a missing-person poster to try to locate Jane.
She discovers that after the bombing there are many missing people
and many such posters are going up on kiosks around the city. But
through the poster she meets Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) who turns
out to be the father of Ali.
Ousmane is a West African searching for his son just as Elizabeth
is searching for Jane, but Ousmane does not know even what his son
looks like. Ousmane has worked in France the previous fifteen
years and has not seen his son since Ali was age six. Now the boy
is really a stranger to him, but he has to find him. She
repeatedly runs into Ousmane, her daughter's boy friend. Elizabeth
is highly suspicious of this man of a different race and religion
who wears dreadlocks and dresses so shabbily and differently from
what she is used to. She blames Ousmane's son and Muslims in
general for enticing Jane to change religions. Even more
complicating (or perhaps un-complicating) her distrust is the
knowledge that the transit attacks were done in the name of Ali's
religion.
The arc of the story by director Rachid Bouchareb is simple and
generally predictable from the beginning. It is almost cliche.
But the story rises above cliche by centering on and making very
human the relationship of these two so-very-different people on so
similar a mission.
Sotigui Kouyate has played the West African stranger in a strange
land before. In 2001's LITTLE SENEGAL he played a man sent to the
United States by a vision in his dreams. That film, also directed
by Rachid Bouchareb, has Kouyate bewildered by the strange life of
New York City. His performance is usually an expressionless face
and a stoic demeanor that speaks volumes by letting the viewer
decide what he is feeling. He has a very deep sorrow that in
addition to not knowing where his son is, he does not really know
even who his son is. His quiet desperation and introspection
contrasts with Blethyn's more than out-in-the-open manner. Her
obsession with her own problems borders on rudeness particularly to
the father of her son's lover. Yet each provides their
relationship something the other person needs.
There is never much doubt where the story is going. But the
contrast of personalities, of cultures, and of needs gives this
drama its humanity. I rate London River a high +2 on the -4 to +4
scale or 8/10. LONDON RIVER is available on DVD and for digital
download as of March 6, 2012.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227787/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/london_river/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: In London two people from very different
backgrounds forge an alliance when each looks for
his/her child in the aftermath the July 2005 terrorist
attacks. Though the arc of the story is fairly
predictable, Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate bring
humanity to their roles. The points that LONDON RIVER
loses from its predictability it gains back for two
terrific performances. Franco-Algerian filmmaker Rachid
Bouchareb gives us a moving story of two cultures in
conflict and of the human understanding that can rise
above that conflict. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Elizabeth (played by Brenda Blethyn) is from a small community on
Guernsey in the Channel Islands and is used to being around people
like herself. Though well-meaning, she is provincial and
suspicious of people she is unused to, especially people like the
large population of Muslim immigrants moving into London. Her
daughter Jane lives apart from her in London, but Elizabeth has not
even visited her daughter's current apartment. Then come the July
7, 2005, terrorist attacks on London transit. Elizabeth wants to
be sure that Jane was not caught up in the terror. Calling Jane
repeatedly, Elizabeth hopes to hear that her daughter is safe, but
gets no response. She determines she must go to London and find
Jane.
What Elizabeth discovers in London only adds to her fears. She
finds Jane's apartment is in a mostly Muslim neighborhood. To her
shock she finds out that her daughter not only has been living with
a Muslim man, Ali, but she was herself studying to become a Muslim.
Elizabeth makes up a missing-person poster to try to locate Jane.
She discovers that after the bombing there are many missing people
and many such posters are going up on kiosks around the city. But
through the poster she meets Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) who turns
out to be the father of Ali.
Ousmane is a West African searching for his son just as Elizabeth
is searching for Jane, but Ousmane does not know even what his son
looks like. Ousmane has worked in France the previous fifteen
years and has not seen his son since Ali was age six. Now the boy
is really a stranger to him, but he has to find him. She
repeatedly runs into Ousmane, her daughter's boy friend. Elizabeth
is highly suspicious of this man of a different race and religion
who wears dreadlocks and dresses so shabbily and differently from
what she is used to. She blames Ousmane's son and Muslims in
general for enticing Jane to change religions. Even more
complicating (or perhaps un-complicating) her distrust is the
knowledge that the transit attacks were done in the name of Ali's
religion.
The arc of the story by director Rachid Bouchareb is simple and
generally predictable from the beginning. It is almost cliche.
But the story rises above cliche by centering on and making very
human the relationship of these two so-very-different people on so
similar a mission.
Sotigui Kouyate has played the West African stranger in a strange
land before. In 2001's LITTLE SENEGAL he played a man sent to the
United States by a vision in his dreams. That film, also directed
by Rachid Bouchareb, has Kouyate bewildered by the strange life of
New York City. His performance is usually an expressionless face
and a stoic demeanor that speaks volumes by letting the viewer
decide what he is feeling. He has a very deep sorrow that in
addition to not knowing where his son is, he does not really know
even who his son is. His quiet desperation and introspection
contrasts with Blethyn's more than out-in-the-open manner. Her
obsession with her own problems borders on rudeness particularly to
the father of her son's lover. Yet each provides their
relationship something the other person needs.
There is never much doubt where the story is going. But the
contrast of personalities, of cultures, and of needs gives this
drama its humanity. I rate London River a high +2 on the -4 to +4
scale or 8/10. LONDON RIVER is available on DVD and for digital
download as of March 6, 2012.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227787/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/london_river/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
LONDON RIVER
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: In London two people from very different
backgrounds forge an alliance when each looks for
his/her child in the aftermath the July 2005 terrorist
attacks. Though the arc of the story is fairly
predictable, Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate bring
humanity to their roles. The points that LONDON RIVER
loses from its predictability it gains back for two
terrific performances. Franco-Algerian filmmaker Rachid
Bouchareb gives us a moving story of two cultures in
conflict and of the human understanding that can rise
above that conflict. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
Elizabeth (played by Brenda Blethyn) is from a small community on
Guernsey in the Channel Islands and is used to being around people
like herself. Though well-meaning, she is provincial and
suspicious of people she is unused to, especially people like the
large population of Muslim immigrants moving into London. Her
daughter Jane lives apart from her in London, but Elizabeth has not
even visited her daughter's current apartment. Then come the July
7, 2005, terrorist attacks on London transit. Elizabeth wants to
be sure that Jane was not caught up in the terror. Calling Jane
repeatedly, Elizabeth hopes to hear that her daughter is safe, but
gets no response. She determines she must go to London and find
Jane.
What Elizabeth discovers in London only adds to her fears. She
finds Jane's apartment is in a mostly Muslim neighborhood. To her
shock she finds out that her daughter not only has been living with
a Muslim man, Ali, but she was herself studying to become a Muslim.
Elizabeth makes up a missing-person poster to try to locate Jane.
She discovers that after the bombing there are many missing people
and many such posters are going up on kiosks around the city. But
through the poster she meets Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) who turns
out to be the father of Ali.
Ousmane is a West African searching for his son just as Elizabeth
is searching for Jane, but Ousmane does not know even what his son
looks like. Ousmane has worked in France the previous fifteen
years and has not seen his son since Ali was age six. Now the boy
is really a stranger to him, but he has to find him. She
repeatedly runs into Ousmane, her daughter's boy friend. Elizabeth
is highly suspicious of this man of a different race and religion
who wears dreadlocks and dresses so shabbily and differently from
what she is used to. She blames Ousmane's son and Muslims in
general for enticing Jane to change religions. Even more
complicating (or perhaps un-complicating) her distrust is the
knowledge that the transit attacks were done in the name of Ali's
religion.
The arc of the story by director Rachid Bouchareb is simple and
generally predictable from the beginning. It is almost cliche.
But the story rises above cliche by centering on and making very
human the relationship of these two so-very-different people on so
similar a mission.
Sotigui Kouyate has played the West African stranger in a strange
land before. In 2001's LITTLE SENEGAL he played a man sent to the
United States by a vision in his dreams. That film, also directed
by Rachid Bouchareb, has Kouyate bewildered by the strange life of
New York City. His performance is usually an expressionless face
and a stoic demeanor that speaks volumes by letting the viewer
decide what he is feeling. He has a very deep sorrow that in
addition to not knowing where his son is, he does not really know
even who his son is. His quiet desperation and introspection
contrasts with Blethyn's more than out-in-the-open manner. Her
obsession with her own problems borders on rudeness particularly to
the father of her son's lover. Yet each provides their
relationship something the other person needs.
There is never much doubt where the story is going. But the
contrast of personalities, of cultures, and of needs gives this
drama its humanity. I rate London River a high +2 on the -4 to +4
scale or 8/10. LONDON RIVER is available on DVD and for digital
download as of March 6, 2012.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227787/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/london_river/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
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