53. In Another Life; movie review

IN ANOTHER LIFE
Cert 15
84 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

"They call this place the jungle but the jungle is for animals not for humans"
"Before I came here I had never broken any laws, never stolen anything. Now I will do anything to get out of here - to escape."
Jason Wingard's film begins with a narrative from its chief character, Adnan (Elie Haddad) which lays out what being a refugee in Calais has done to him
In Another Life, he was a teacher in Syria. Now he is embroiled in a life-or-death struggle to reach the United Kingdom.
It lays a lie to the notion that adult refugees are simply scroungers. Adnan makes clear that he would much prefer to be at home in Syria rather than be in the UK.
Tragically, that is impossible because his once beautiful native land has become uninhabitable.
Therefore, he and his wife (Toyah Frantzen) have risked their lives on the open sea and been left almost penniless by the ruthless people traffickers who trade on desperation.
Trapped in Calais and separated from his wife, Adnan is then befriended by an optimist (Yousef Hayyan Jubeh) whose schemes to reach Britain have become more and more dangerous.
In Another Life may be a drama but is just as powerful as any documentary in translating the horrors of the Calais refugees and the hopelessness of their plight.
It also emphasises how they are treated as sub-human by almost everyone who comes into contact with them.
Wingard filmed much of In Another Life in the Calais jungle and employed refugees as cast members alongside its cast leads.
This gives his film a particularly authentic feel.
In my view, this picture deserves a much wider distribution because Wingard has cut right to the quick of an issue which is often presented as very complex.
Put simply, people, regardless of their race or religion, should not be in peril on our doorstep and cannot be ignored.
Some may say that this film cannot be taken seriously because it is a dramatisation but from all the evidence I have seen, it gives a frighteningly accurate portrayal of the tragedy of the refugee crisis.
Those forced to flee are human beings, not animals. Mind you, we would howl with dismay if dogs had been treated like them.

Reasons to watch: really nails the case for dealing with the horror of refugees
Reasons to avoid: if you have already made your mind up on the subject of refugees

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote: Jason Wingard: "As soon as people hear it is about refugees, they make assumptions. We wanted to humanise the story and that means showing rounded individuals. So, it is not all tugging on the heart strings - it is showing the people as normal and that gets the message over than if we tried to put any optical messages in."

The big question: When did refugee become a dirty word?

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