Ben Sharrock’s delicious culture-clash chamber piece finds the wit as well as the heartache in four migrants’ exile to the dampest corner of Europe.
Written and directed by Ben Sharrock, ‘Limbo’ exquisitely explores the experience of asylum seekers. The film is staggeringly poignant and thoughtful as it weaves together a story of a Syrian refugee who is stuck in, well, limbo. Omar can’t go back to his past life in Syria, where it’s still in the throes of civil war and devastating human loss, but he doesn’t know what’s in store for his future.
The film is set on an unnamed remote island in Scotland. Population: very few. Omar (the brilliant Amir El-Masry) is awaiting news on his asylum papers - whether or not they are approved could change his life even more than it already has. He keeps in touch with his parents, who are now living in Turkey, over the phone, while his estranged brother remained in Syria to fight in the war. ‘Limbo’ handles its themes with enormous grace, balancing despair with levity and a realism that makes this drama emotionally intense and worthwhile.
Our thanks to MUBI for this screening.