Limbo (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, April 29

R Running Time: 103 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • The BAFTA-nominated Limbo arrives stateside with a lot of buzz and a distinctive story about the refugee and immigrant experience in today’s modern world.

  • Writer/director Ben Sharrock’s second feature is a breakthrough film - and with it, the hope that we have more from him in the future.

  • Visually engrossing, and though the offbeat comedy and melancholy drama will jar some viewers, Limbo leaves a significant, unique impression on viewers.

NO

  • The shifting tone will be too much for viewers who like movies to be largely one genre and not deviate from a familiar structure.

  • If you believe you are seeing a dark comedy, with lots and lots of humor - you are going to be disappointed that this is ultimately more dramatic than a straight-up comedy.

  • Even though this film will be in a number of theaters, more so perhaps than before COVID-19 would have allowed, mainstream audiences may not quite appreciate everything Ben Sharrock is putting before them.


OUR REVIEW

The vision and scope of Ben Sharrock’s Limbo is quirky, reverential to its characters and storylines, and a distinctive look at the refugee and immigrant experience. Specifically, Sharrock’s second feature embeds with four men seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Housed on a sparsely populated Scottish island, the men live together and wait for an official decision on their futures.

Hailing from Syria, Afghanistan and West Africa, they make the best of their makeshift living arrangement on a remote peninsula. The medical clinic has a doctor who shows up monthly, if needed. Flowing fields of grass and long gravel roads range as far as the eye can see. Occasionally, a random resident will wander by. Houses and buildings appear as almost solitary statues, each one with legacy and history, but nary a soul to be found near any of them.

Billed as a dark comedy, this reoccurring theme and continual visual representation of isolation and political and personal limbo is not really what one would expect in a film with darkly comedic beats and undertones. Sharrock, who also wrote the film, is committed to looking at the immigrant experience from as many different angles as possible.

A main character emerges in Omar (Amir El-Masry), whose decision to leave Syria has caused a significant rift with his family back home. Odd but kind-hearted Farhad (Vikash Bhai) tries to forge a bond of friendship, but Omar is introspective, quiet, and fighting bouts of depression. Two brothers, Wasef and Abedi (Ola Orebiyi and Kwabena Ansah, respectively) have an eye on prospects which may or may not prove to be realistic options should asylum be granted.

Omar and his furrowed stare absorbs the absurdity, the loneliness, the emptiness he is engulfed in, with Sharrock’s reliance on Omar’s expression becoming a searing and powerful visual. Also, everywhere Omar goes, he carries a case. Inside is his grandfather’s oud, a fretless, lute-style stringed instrument which Omar became extremely skilled at playing in his hometown. Since arriving in Scotland, he cannot play it; the oud a burden of sorts, similar to a cross being carried over a shoulder.

Limbo is, to be fair, rather unconventional in terms of storytelling. The off-kilter use of humor might throw people off and frustrate the viewing experience. For fans of more light-hearted David Lynch, or those who appreciate the comedy found in Coen Brothers movies, Sharrock’s shift of tone and atmosphere will prove as a nice contrast to the more melancholic elements of the story.

With an observational approach, Nick Cooke’s cinematography is exceptional. Several shots show Omar small in stature, juxtaposed to the immense landscape and surroundings he finds himself in. Symbolism notwithstanding, Cooke’s work creates almost a whole different character for Omar to have to reason with. At times, he seems to be battling his surroundings as much as everything else.

All of this has value in helping viewers understand the churn of angst and anxiety immigrants like Omar and others face. As dreams of raising chickens, or playing professional football (soccer), or reconciling with estranged family members becomes the goal, Limbo drifts in and out of the dreams and what-ifs occupying these men’s thoughts.

When the refugees meet latent racism with trainings taught by two absurd cultural awareness teachers, Helga (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and Boris (Kenneth Collard), there is no escape for them. They will always wrestle with Otherness - that sense of being an intruder for simply seeking the prospects of a better life.

What we grow to comprehend is the humanity and desperation that rests behind every stare, every dream, every odd interaction. When Omar comes to terms with separating from his family, and wrestles with why he left his homeland, contrasting with his brother’s decision to join the military, Limbo finds a humanity where we can ultimately connect.

With theaters looking for more content to fill reopening screens, Limbo will benefit from a much wider release, and therefore the opportunity to find an audience. Adventurous moviegoers will likely, hopefully be pleasantly surprised.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Vikash Bhai, Kwabena Ansah, Ola Orebiyi, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Kenneth Collard, Cameron Fulton, Kais Nashif

Director: Ben Sharrock
Written by: Ben Sharrock
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Focus Features