Limbo

I am a huge fan of dark comedies and comedies of the absurd so I absolutely loved Limbo, which I saw last night.  Omar (Amir El-Masry) has recently fled war-torn Syria and is seeking asylum in England.  While he waits for his status to be resolved, he is detained on a desolate island in the outer Hebrides in Scotland with a group of refugees, including Farhad (Vikash Bhai), Wasef (Ola Orebiyi), and Abedi (Kwabena Ansah).  Omar spends his days trekking to a pay phone (the only cell phone service on the island is located at the top of a mountain) to talk to his parents who have relocated to Turkey and to inquire after his brother Nabil who remained in Syria as a freedom fighter, Farhad "adopts" a chicken and names him after his idol Freddie Mercury, while the brothers argue about whether Wasef will be able to play for Chelsea F.C. and about whether Rachel and Ross were on a break (they find a DVD box set of Friends at the donation centre).  The refugees also spend time in cultural awareness classes, run by Helga (Sidse Babette Knudsen) and Boris (Kenneth Collard), to help them fit in but the locals still think they are terrorists.  These episodes and others provide much comic relief (I laughed out loud multiple times) but the main narrative is incredibly poignant.  Omar carries his grandfather's oud, a traditional stringed instrument, with him everywhere he goes but he never plays it because it represents his identity, which has become blurred.  He must make peace with his decision to leave Syria and with his brother (Kais Nashef), who he thinks disapproves of his decision, before he can play and move on with his life.  I was incredibly invested in the character of Omar and his fate because El-Masry gives a performance that is both sensitive and powerful.  His expressionless, yet somehow mournful, gaze communicates everything he is feeling so effectively, even more than the dialogue.  The juxtaposition of this with a video on his phone, which he watches multiple times, of him playing the oud at a concert and joyfully acknowledging his family (one of the best uses of an aspect ratio change I've ever seen) is absolutely brilliant.  The highly composed wide shots of the barren landscape serve to emphasize the isolation the refugees feel as does the production design which features an almost empty apartment where the refugees live and a barely stocked grocery store where Omar tries, unsuccessfully, to find the ingredients for a recipe his mother gives him.  I honestly loved everything about this movie because it is both humorous and affecting while quietly portraying the harsh realities that refugees face.  I couldn't recommend this more!

Note:  I read a review comparing this to a Yorgos Lanthimos movie in tone and a Wes Anderson movie in execution.  Since I am a fan of both of these directors, it is no surprise that I loved it!