Leave to Remain, 2013.
Directed by Bruce Goodison.
Starring Toby Jones, Noof Ousellam, Zarrien Masieh and Yasmin Mwanza.
SYNOPSIS:
Leave to Remain is the unique story of three teenage asylum seekers who are trying to escape various problems in their respective homelands to find refuge in England.
What sounds like quite a heavy and topical plot is so much more. It’s also a startling and enlightening tale of people putting all their hope and faith into a system that isn’t always ready to help.
The story focuses on three refugees – Omar, Abdul and Zizidi – and their very different paths to get to this country. We begin with Omar telling a room full of strangers his story and why he came to live in this country, a story he admits has lost all meaning over time.
What follows is simply an in-depth look at how refugees suffer injustices and prejudice and at the same time are unable to shake the fear that they could be turned away and sent back to their own countries.
To pull off a story like this is understandably very difficult as you could easily be swept up in an overly sentimental puff piece without any meaning. Instead, thanks to the director’s background in documentary making, this film feels incredibly grounded and based entirely in reality, not in flights of fancy. This means that the end result is actually quite a cold and unflinching account of something that doesn’t really get into the news without a negative stigma attached.
What this film does incredibly well is present you with a lot of facts. This may sound like odd praise but simply put, only showing you facts allows you to make up your own mind as to what’s going on, something quite refreshing in today’s media.
The actors themselves should also be given a lot of credit. Each of them portrays their character with blunt honesty and impressive skill which, given that they had no experience in acting before, is remarkable.
Less impressive though, is the way the story and dialogue have been written. It feels very underdeveloped and at times actually begins to annoy you with some of the narrative decisions that have been made. This is due to the fact that the story isn’t the director’s main goal.
What he wants to do is show you exactly how difficult it is to become a UK citizen and with that focus in mind, he has made the story a secondary concern and in doing so has lessened any impact that this film could have had. This heavy handed approach affects the whole film and really makes it feel incredibly preachy towards the end and makes it difficult to care about the characters.
Having said that, this film does provide you with a lot to think about. So, even if it wasn’t done in the very best of ways, whether it’s your own prejudices or the difficulties an immigrant faces, you’ll walk away with a lot on your mind.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Ozzy Armstrong is a Stargate and Rocky superfan. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published October 10, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
