London River

In the days following the London train bombings,hundreds of people from England,as well as other parts of Europe scrambled anxiously trying to find out about their loved ones. In this story,we get stories of two single parents in search of their children. There is Elizabeth,a fifty something woman,living as far north of the (so called)big,evil city of London,being perfectly content to work the earth on her farm,while Ousmane,a tall,lanky man of African descent is trying to find out about his estranged son,whom he hasn't seen since he left home to work in France,when his son was only six. Through a series of chance meetings, they both find out that the daughter & son were lovers,living together in London. Both travel there in search of their estranged children. Do they find them & find some kind of closure? Brenda Bleythn (Secrets & Lies)is Elizabeth,a woman who obviously fears the unknown. Mali actor, Sotigue Kouyate is Ousmane,a worry worn man,who just wants to live out his days,tending the Elm trees. Also featuring Francis Magee,Sami Bouajila, Roschady Zem & Marc Baylis. Rachid Bouchareb ('Little Senegal')directs from a screenplay written by Zoe Galeron,Olivier Lorelle & Bouchareb. Cinematography by Jerome Almeras,with editing by Yannick Korgoat. This is a heart breaking,but very well written,directed & acted drama of a woman trying to rise above fear & ignorance & banding together with a stranger who is attempting to find some reasoning in the middle of chaos. As this film has no North American distribution,it may be a bit hard to track down (it has been screened mostly at film festivals,and as far as I know,there is no DVD release available). Spoken in English,and French,Arabic & Bambarra with English subtitles. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains some rather gruesome images of some of the victims of the London train bombings that could be traumatic to young children

We enjoyed this touching film immensely. It was well written, well acted and well directed with a humanist representation of parental love, multiculturalism and xenophobia in today's London. The multilingual aspect was wonderful, and it is possibly more fun to watch it without subtitles so that just like in real life you cannot understand what is being said in languages that you don't speak. Both Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyaté were excellent with their understated portrayals of parents from very different backgrounds who meet on common ground. The underlying tensions of the plot is developed through the film, which remained believable throughout. Highly recommended.

This was a captivating, true to life experience from the outset. The actors were outstanding and the writing rang with authenticity. Terrific film.

The bombing of several trains in London in 2005 shocked the world. Rachid Bouchareb's "London River" takes place in the immediate aftermath, with two people from dissimilar backgrounds trying to find out the fates of their loved ones. The protagonists are an English woman (Brenda Blethyn) looking for her daughter, and an African man (Sotigui Kouyaté in his final role) looking for his son. Beyond that, the movie also deals with stereotypes and prejudices, in particular about Muslims. No doubt these sorts of things were personal for the director, as he's an ancestrally Algerian man who grew up in France.

It didn't get a wide release, but deserves recognition. No CGI, fast-paced shots, or pulse-pounding soundtrack, just the focus on how the even affects these individuals. It forces the viewer to ask "What would you do in this situation?"

What worked:

• performance by the lead actors
• amazing screenplay and storytelling; minute details about the characters and the scenes are taken into attention and well done

What didn't work: -the ending was as expected but i think few more scenes could have made it better

• the title of the movie is ambiguous to me;maybe it's metaphorical I was not so sure about the title

Final verdict: Recommended