226. Amin; movie review

AMIN
Cert 18
92 mins

BBFC advice: Contains brief explicit image

Hot on the heels of one film from the perspectives of immigrants in A Season In France, comes another with an extra dimension.
Amin (Moustapha Mbengue) is the title character who works as a hired hand in France in order to earn money to send back to his wife (Mareme N'Diaye) and children in Senegal.
He lives in a hostel that he shares with other African immigrants including a kindly Moroccan co-worker (Noureddine Benallouche) who struggles to assimilate.
The extra dimension is that we also see Amin back in his home country and how his wife has to put up with sex discrimination in his absence.
Oh, and he develops a relationship with a middle-aged French divorcee (Emmanuelle Devos) as they both see how to plug an emotional gap in their lives.
It would be fair to say that Philippe Faucon's movie is slow. Amin has an engaging smile but is not a man driven to high emotion.

Thus, much of the film reflects the mundane life of a man who lives in a hostel, works long hours and has little else going on.
And when the movie's big moments arrive they are understated.
Nevertheless, there is a sprinkling of love and tragedy and a clear impression that this is very close to the real life of immigrants.
This should not be too much of a surprise as writers Yasmina Nini-Faucon and Mustapha Kharmoudi have the first-hand experience of the being part of such a community.
The added bonus is the contribution of Devos as the divorcee who needs a confidence boost and finds it in the arms of Amin.

Reasons to watch: A sense of what it is really like to be an economic immigrant
Reasons to avoid: Not nearly enough happens

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 5.5/10

Did you know? Widespread Senegalese migration to France first began with temporary workers. As their stays became more permanent, they brought their families to live with them, typically in communities on the outskirts of Paris and other major cities. Once settled in their new communities, they established hometown associations, largely to support development back in Senegal.

The final word. Philippe Faucon: "We met some men who live in workers’ hostels in France,then wives who have remained alone in their country of origin. The loneliness, the

uprooting, the angst of these men who live together, but also their complicity, their laughter, which help them to hang on, those are things that the writers, Yasmina Nini-Faucon and Mustapha Kharmoudi, have experienced within their own families or close relations."

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