London River (2009)

We enjoyed this touching film immensely. It was well written, well acted and well directed with a humanist representation of parental love, multiculturalism and xenophobia in today's London. The multilingual aspect was wonderful, and it is possibly more fun to watch it without subtitles so that just like in real life you cannot understand what is being said in languages that you don't speak. Both Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyaté were excellent with their understated portrayals of parents from very different backgrounds who meet on common ground. The underlying tensions of the plot is developed through the film, which remained believable throughout. Highly recommended.

I've been sitting here in front of the computer with a blank page open trying to find a way to write about London River that will convey everything it made me feel while watching it.It is funny to confirm once again that I have no problem in writing about the things I don't like, about what things aren't and all the other negative aspects about any given subject, but once I have to write about the reasons why I like something, why it is great, etc; I blank.I think a good way to start writing about London River is to say that A) it is the best film (fiction) I have watched at the Festival so far and B) it will be really hard not to spoil anything about the story (so, if you want to be truly surprise you should stop reading now).London River is the story about a woman and a man whose children go missing after the attacks in London in 2005. The film follows their efforts to find out what happened to them and their struggle to accept the obvious.The brilliance about London River is that what could have been an over melodramatic film is, instead, very emotionally repressed.I know that for Brazilians and other Latin-American people, telling such a dramatic story this way might seem odd and, even worse, cold. But it truly isn't. It turns out quite the opposite, in fact.The very contained direction and script from Rachid Bouchareb ends up making you feel even more for these parents and what they are going through. Their despair is subtle and yet palpable. It involves you and moves you. It is heartbreaking.Another reason for being the perfect way to tell this story is that the fear and prejudice that permeates British society is a touchy issue. How could it not be? No one likes to admit their faults, but facing it this way without accusations or making it a spectacle (like Michael Moore in Bowling for Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11) is more powerful; it makes you think. It is also a very respectful and honorable way of tackling a very real and present aspect of British life.If the technical aspects of London River weren't enough to make it a great film, then you can delight and be amazed with Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyaté performances. They are very honest and beautiful. They will bring tears to your eyes, I guarantee.On a personal note, I rarely watch a film and am taken aback by the actors to the point that I think they deserve awards, but this time I did. I really hope they get nominated for the major awards. It will be shocking and unfair if they don't.

By coincidence I got to see this film on a 9/11. I have not seen any of the previous films of Rachid Bouchareb, but I heard a lot about 'Indigenes' and I liked 'Flanders' that he produced. This film is quite low tone, but emotional and direct. In the aftermath of the terror attacks in London two parents look for their children. She is an English farmer widower from a remote island, he is from Africa, a Muslim and guest worker in France. Everything separates the two at first sight - religion, language, race and especially prejudice. They will get together because of the shared fate of their children, and they will go together through the painful phases of inquietude, fear, hope, and despair. They get to know each other, but this does not prevent destiny to hit them. I liked the fact that the film does not try to soften in anyway their paths, and avoided some of the traps that other types of endings or intrigues place in similar movies. Multicultural London filmed in a neutral and yet familiar way is the perfect background of the story that includes some racial tensions elements without insisting too much on them. Without avoiding completely simplification and a feeling of expected this direct approach plays quite well, and is immensely helped by the great acting of the two lead characters, especially Sotigui Kouyaté. This is not the ultimate film about the events that shattered London in July 2005, but rather a simple story about how usual people get are impacted by such events, an efficient and direct movie even if not great cinema.

Weeks after the terrorist attacks in London a mother calls her daughter, over and over again. She hasn't heard from her in a while and is getting more and more anxious about her, knowing she lived close to where the events took place. When she goes to London to find her she finds a man instead. A man who matches her in one important manner - he is searching for his son. The two of them continue their search together and slowly find out more about themselves and each other.Dark and dreary, depressing and painful. Sometimes people get together for entirely the wrong reason and this is one of these occasions. They connect rather well and play their stories out in a believable way. As they go through their daily routine it becomes all too painfully clear where it will all end - but the real pain of this film is that it ends too quickly. It runs for 87 minutes and could have used another 15 without having grown less intense. The shortness makes it feel a little rushed, but only a little.9 out of 10 steps in the dark