By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
In fact, amidst the typical fodder of January releases, this film stands apart from those to tell a riveting story, rather multiple riveting stories. “I Was a Stranger” is the latest from Angel Studios, and once again they rely on quality storytelling to achieve thought provoking entertainment. This one may not be based on a specific true story, but it represents 14 million true stories of refugees and their harrowing tales of escape and survival.
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, is responsible for creating one of the world’s largest refugee crises, displacing millions of its citizens. The lives of five strangers collide, each with different motivations, but united in their efforts to survive an impossible situation. A Syrian ER doctor named Amira Homsi (Yasmine Al Massri), a Syrian soldier named Mustafa (Yahya Mahayni), a smuggler in Turkey named Marwan (Omar Sy), a captain of the Greek Coast Guard named Stavros (Constantine Markoulakis), and a poet named Fathi (Ziad Bakri) are the unsuspecting strangers who must find common humanity to work together and survive the night.
The film is written and directed by Brandt Andersen, who created this feature length drama from his 2020 short film called “Refugee,” which was short-listed for an Oscar. So, this is a subject he’s been extremely passionate about, and it shows in his painstaking care to capture the loss, the grief, the danger, and human nature that binds the characters together. Brandt creatively incorporates a non-linear, chapter style format to relay the story with each chapter focusing on the subject’s perspective. As the movie progresses, the intersecting storylines reveal poignant messaging that despite the characters’ vast differences, they all still share the fact that they are human with emotions and the desire for belongingness. These wholesome themes are appealing, and viewers will find themselves invested in each character’s outcomes.
The problem is devoting only 15 to 20 minutes to each character’s story is simply not enough, resulting in diminished emotional connectivity. This does the most disservice to the Smuggler chapter, which shows the compelling tale of a single father doing what he needs to do to provide for his sick son. This chapter closes much too quickly, leaving the audience yearning for more and feeling a bit jilted about the way it ends. Then there’s the Poet chapter, which seems like a pointless inclusion, especially since poetry is never referenced and it fails to justify its existence in relation to the other chapters. This could have been cut completely with the extra time devoted to expanding the more critical chapters. Brandt also ends the film rather abruptly and weakly, only focusing closure on one particular character and forgetting the rest.
Despite these imperfections, Brandt does extremely well in generating tension and holding that tension with a continuous stream of danger inducing moments, from escaping the war-torn city to riding in a small, cramped boat while in the midst of a torrential rainstorm at night. This generates fast pacing that is accentuated by the naturally intimate cinematography style. The continuous shot sequences are a nice touch that enhance both the realism and tension of those moments, creating a more immersive viewing experience.
The acting from this diverse cast is a strength of this film, but it is Omar Sy’s performance that stands out the most. Like he did in last year’s “Shadow Force,” he proves how much considerable talent he has, supplying a three-dimensional performance that gets further enriched by his natural charisma. The French actor’s tough guy exterior that hides his character’s compassion towards his son makes the audience wish for more time and exploration with him.
While its flaws keep it from living up to its potential, there is enough well-intentioned messaging about humanity that is studied in a grippingly entertaining way. The heavy-handed hopelessness depicted in “I Was a Stranger” may be emotionally off-putting to some, but the quality of storytelling, production value, and acting make it well worth watching. In a month surrounded by inferior releases, this film offers a rare alternative worthy of your attention.
This movie earns:
