Fremont, 2023
Directed by Babak Jalali.
Starring Anaita Wali Zada, Jeremy Allen White, Gregg Turkington, Hilda Schmelling, Siddique Ahmed, Taban Ibraz, Avis See-tho, Timur Nusratty, Eddie Tang, Jennifer McKay, Divya Jakatdar, Fazil Seddiqui, Molly Noble, Enoch Ku, Corey Seaver, and Boots Riley.
SYNOPSIS:
Donya works for a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to settle into her new life. She sends a special message in a cookie in a moment of sudden revelation.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Fremont wouldn’t exist.
All former Afghan translator Donya (a mesmerizing breakthrough performance from Anaita Wali Zada) wants from her psychiatrist Dr. Anthony (Gregg Turkington), is sleeping medication. Getting the appointment itself is a disheartening process that involves accepting a coveted spot from a friend who is no longer interested in therapy, with her almost turned away from taking his place for not going through the proper channels. Donya stares him down while declaring she is not leaving. It’s the first of many moments in co-writer/director Babak Jalali’s Fremont (writing alongside Carolina Cavalli) revealing Anaita Wali Zada as a special talent, exhaustively wearing grief, guilt, and depression all over her face.
Working with the US government, effectively betraying her country and making life harder for her family while escaping Afghanistan to pursue some semblance of the American Dream in Fremont, California, Donya feels that guilt. Anthony is convinced that, while she may require sleeping medication, it is a deflection from not addressing PTSD (it’s worth noting that she struggles to make eye contact during these sessions), which the film briefly dives into in detail. She now works in a fortune cookie factory and enjoys the company of other ethnicities.
It may sound like there is a lot to unpack about Donya, and there is, but Fremont also takes the dry comedy route approach to this material, primarily functioning as a slice-of-life look at the lives of these factory workers and the various pursuits that might bring them happiness. After work, Donya typically hits up a diner where the manager is there amusingly preaching the perks of finding fulfillment in watching Afghan soap operas on the television. Seemingly unsure of what she wants, Donya uses her promotion as the writer of the fortunes (which also makes for a rather enlightening look at the do’s and don’ts of creating them) to do something clever, taking the film in an entirely unexpected, joyous direction, in turn allowing for Anaita Wali Zada further layering an already exceptional debut performance.
The therapy sessions are also humorous, with Gregg Turkington being the appropriate choice to overdramatically read a book about a wolf, pulling metaphors from it intended to relate to Donya. As for her quest to find meaning and fulfillment in life, that brings Jeremy Allen White’s car mechanic Daniel into the picture, a choice that allows Fremont to opt for an ending that’s perhaps too convenient, optimistic, and clean, but nonetheless heartwarming.
Presented in the boxy Academy ratio with black and white cinematography from Laura Valladao, Fremont is also an aesthetically striking film using a lack of color to express the mundane lives of these characters and greater convey how awkward the immigrant experience can be. There are also carefully constructed shots emphasizing the powerful body language emanating from Anaita Wali Zada while capturing her surroundings’ beauty.
Fremont doesn’t explore Donya as much of a character as it feels it could have, with the acting elevating the proceedings. Then there is the story itself which feels slight and episodic in nature, introducing multiple side characters, but again, the performances here find something moving on life-affirming in all of it. It is such a specific, distinct, and minimalistic take on the immigrant experience and pursuing the American Dream anchored by a revelatory turn from Anaita Wali Zada that good fortune should be in the future for all involved.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
