Anchor Baby

The movie got me confused at first because i thought there was no plot and was leading nowhere but then towards the end the plot got revealed and got really interesting.

The story involves a couple (Paul & Joyce) who are illegal immigrants in the United states hoping for a better life. They got caught by the US immigration service and were ordered to be deported. Joyce realizes she's pregnant and the couple decided to stay at least until the baby is born to secure a US citizenship for the child. Paul got caught and was immediately deported leaving his pregnant wife behind. Joyce avoiding the immigration officers struggles on her own and looks for a place to stay, she meets Susan who offers to help and take her in, Joyce accepts the offer not realizing Susan's hidden motives while facing numerous challenges.

Its one of those movies with a last minute twist, great movie.

This movie annoyed me so much. The premise was great and interesting, but the plot just crawled on and on, to no end, and the acting was annoying especially from certain characters/scenes. Susan and John (Susan's lawyer friend) were particularly odd in their acting, like they don't know how "real" people behave.

Except Joyce Unanga, the main character. She did pretty good.

It's disappointing because I would have loved to get a movie on this topic (undocumented immigrants shown in a sympathetic light) where I could be really invested in the characters.

The ending was unexpected for me, so that was good, but it didn't feel necessary, like the twist didn't really do anything for the movie overall. If it had, I would have bumped it up to a 5/10 but no.

Also the whole movie felt like it was made in the early 2000s, from the camera quality, to the awkward cuts between some scenes, to the weird dialogue.

Pregnant Joyce Unanga played by Omoni Oboli and her husband Paul Unaga played by Sam Sarpong are illegal immigrants in the United States. Their visas have expired and their time in the USA is up. They were offered voluntary deportation 3 months previously but refused to take it Joyce has 4 months until she gives birth and has agreed with her husband that they will lay under the radar hiding from immigration until the baby is born. This anchor baby will act as a device for the family to gain legal foothold into the United States;. Joyce isn't so keen on the idea but her husband Paul is desperate for their child to be born in the United States and have an American passport so that he/she can be afforded the same opportunities as American born kids.

After a raid at Paul's workplace, where Paul drops his phone after running from immigration officials immigration and are hot on their tails and one morning while Joyce is out on her daily walk they pounce and grab Paul. Joyce has no choice but to evacuate the apartment if she too doesn't want to be caught. She is left alone, homeless and pregnant looking for a place to stay when she comes across a Good Samaritan by the name Susan played by Teri Oliver in a doctor's office. Susan comes in to save the day and offers her her basement to live in until the baby is born. It sounds too good to be true. Is it?

This is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and I would definitely recommend. It was well shot and evenly paced. The drama, tension and suspense was good but could have been picked up a notch, nevertheless I loved the storyline. It was one that raised very real and important issues about illegal immigration and showed us the gritty reality of life as an illegal immigrant and the misfortune that can fall upon you when you have no rights. Anchor baby won the Best film Harlem Intl film festival, Award of Merit L.A Cinema festival of Hollywood. It made the Official selection Africa Intl film festival and official selection Fans of film festival and all with good reason. Grab ya copy

I didn't quite expect where the story was going, it was a nice surprise, but some of the acting just wasn't very good. Something to pass the time during lockdown.

A really clever story . Nothing wrong with this movie and no complaints . Though with a bigger budget and better production values the same cast and script could have made a modest blockbuster .