Fremont

The story of Donya, an Afghan immigrant, who was a translator for the US Army and left her country and family when the Taliban took over (again!). She is now relocated to Fremont, California, in a community of Afghan immigrants and trying to find meaning and purpose in her new home. Donya just can't sleep probably traumatized by her life and work for the US Army in Afghanistan. This is a tender story of the loneliness of being an immigrant played in with wry, comedic and zesty energy by Anaita Wali Zada. And then comes along a potential love interest, Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)....

I loved this adorable and droll film from Babak Jalali. This film alone made the trip to Sundance worth it!

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.

"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-

I saw this yesterday in one of our vintage Melbourne cinemas (Balwyn) and found myself to be the only person in the 50-seater room, which suited me fine, because I could completely lose myself in this dream of a movie.

No element of this film is remarkably original but the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts, and the newcomer Anaita Wali Zada is a delight and a captivating screen presence in a way that is hard to define. As others have said, both in appreciation and in criticism, all the performances are understated in this understated movie but in a good way. Even the story is unresolved, if you're judging it by mainstream expectations but, again, it's unresolved in a pleasing and apt way. Visually pleasing, musically pleasing, emotionally touching without milking it. It left me thinking about it for the rest of the day, wishing to hold onto its sense of delicate, intimate atmosphere.

I'd happily see it again and recommend it to anyone of an empathetic nature.

I was intrigued how Babak Jalali, the director focused his lens on this beautiful story of Donya, an Afghan immigrant, left her family and county when the Taliban took over, a girl who comes to the city of Fremont to find new life and new purpose.

I found myself wanting to know more about Donya's character and was very curious about where her life in the story will enfold. I can relate as an immigrant myself, to Donya's struggles and longing to fit in and to live a normal life in a new country. Seeing it presented in black and white heightened each element.

I love the film, the story and the cinematography is stunning, a well done film by Babak Jalali and his team. A must see film.