Fremont

Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismaki would be proud. Babak Julali's gorgeous "Fremont" is minimalism gone wild. So little happens over the ninety or so minute running time you might (just) be forgiven if you drift off. Donya, (newcomer Anaita Wall Zada), is an Afghan who worked as a translator for the US military and who now lives in Fremont, working in a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Desperately lonely and unable to sleep she cheats her way into seeing a psychiatrist, (a wonderfully deadpan Gregg Turkington), who just wants to read Jack London's "White Fang" to her.

One day Donya slips a message into one of the fortune cookies giving her name and phone number and waits for the result, hoping it will lead to romance or at least a blind date like the ones her friend and colleague Joanne, (Hilda Schmelling), goes on. What happens next is as sweet and unexpected as you will find in any rom-com for, in its quiet, unassuming way, that's what "Fremont" surely is. Beautifully photographed in black and white by Laura Valladao and superbly acted by the entire cast this is an out-of-nowhere gem that really shouldn't be missed.

Best suited for a patient art house movie audience I guess. Why? Because however charming and lovely this slowburning portrait of an Afghan refugee in America might be, it is also lacking in spark and punch. That's a nice way of saying it is a bit tedious at moments.

What's beautiful though is the time and attention reserved for the actors in a totally black and white photography setting, which even further enhances the actor's chemistry. Faint memories of Jim Jarmush come to mind, watching this movie, but where directoro Jarmush reaches for the sky, this story never became real magic, merely charming and nice.

Emotionally powerful, fondly told story with many layers of interest and meaning. The "less is more" approach heightens our curiosity about the characters and what they are feeling under the surface of their interactions. Rather than being confused as to their motivations, we can clearly see that these are good and unselfish people, wanting to lead good and decent lives and make meaningful connections with each other without the pretense and personal branding/image crafting that is the prevalent, current mode of human interaction. A story of loneliness and also how to avoid it, if we keep our hearts open and are not ashamed and wary of our own vulnerabilities. The camera work and blocking of each scene is masterfully and tightly arranged and composed, yet consistently seems effortless. Go where this film takes you, and you will be rewarded. A serene and beautiful film. A complete joy to watch. A moving piece of artful cinema.

Just a castaway, an island lost at sea. Another lonely day with no one here but me. More loneliness than any Afghani woman (or any woman for that matter) could bear. Rescue me before I fall into despair.

Life's been tough since emigrating to the States, where making fortune cookies for a living somewhat grates, then a chance to type a line, that may result in an entwine, and open up a future that just might lead to a dance.

A wonderful performance from Anaita Wali Zada leaves the viewer under no illusion of what Donya is looking for after leaving Afghanistan having been an English translator during the occupation.

"Fremont" is a modest but entertaining displaced person story. Its protagonist, Donya, is a young Afghan woman who fled the country and now works at a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco's Chinatown. She deals with the loneliness and the guilt she feels from abandoning her family, which is exacerbated by some fellow Afghan expats in her community who think of her as a traitor. The movie puts a human face on the plight of refugees everywhere. As she says at one point when asked by her psychiatrist if America is all she dreamed it would be, she didn't really imagine what America would be like because the goal wasn't America specifically -- it was just anywhere that wasn't where she was. I don't think most of us can truly understand what that would feel like.

The movie goes for a very dry, dead pan comedy vibe that I don't think always works. It's one of those movies where characters will just stare awkwardly at each other for several minutes without saying anything. The slow pace might test the patience of some. But I mostly enjoyed it. Anaita Wali Zada gives a good performance as the main protagonist, but I wish the film had given her more to do. Just as her character arc truly begins, the movie ends. I also enjoyed the performances of Gregg Turkington, who plays her doctor and helps her see the parallels between her own life and "White Fang," and Jeremy Allen White, who pops up late in the film as a mechanic and leaves the audience assuming that Donya may not be lonely for much longer.

Grade: A-