Okay, so this is the first movie for a while that we've seen from Jolly
Olde Engerland that isn't directed by Madonna's husband or the
Trainspotting guy, and perhaps for those reasons, there're no abuses of
flashbacks, time distortion is a subtle effect, the soundtrack is all
score, and the cameramen were treated for their inner-ear-infections
before filming.
This was, in short, a very very cool movie. It's about a bunch of
immigrants who, by working hard and living normal lives if below-the-
radar in London, are therefore breaking the law to varying degrees,
because they all have different legal statuses. They've got people who
help, people who exploit, and people who pull out their wangs with
little encouragement, and they're all just trying to stay one step ahead
of the law, two steps ahead of Vic Damone.
The main d00d, Okwe, is a Nigerian doctor working a few jobs, playing
some chess, and trying to be a good guy. He's illegally living with
Amelie, yeah, that Amelie, who is living legally but working illegally.
One day at work, he finds a human heart where it doesn't belong
(anywhere besides a chest cavity) and he figures out that the
exploitation of immigrants goes way the hell beyond sweatshop labor: a
most horrible economy, the blackest market.
Then the fuzz comes in, missing the point. The England's Immigation
Authorities are pretty much the only white characters who have two
scenes or more, and they look ridiculous fla****ng their IDs that don't
have badges or an acronym in large print. I'm just saying. They
wouldn't know a G-man if one fell out of the sky and put on a dress.
You should really go to your nearest major city and watch this movie.
It is unburdened by unnecessary action, it does not startle the viewer
for no reason, it does not manipulate the audience. It plays out with
the richest pacing towards its inevitable ends, and you are there to
watch all the pieces move through their courses. Mega-kudos to the
funny Chinese coroner played by Benedict Wong, who played a great geek
in the details.
If there's any fault to the movie, it's that it's quite unlikely that
every immigrant is as colorful and interesting as each of the ones
featured in the movie. They may have different cultures where they came
from, but where they are now they don't have English culture so much as
London Immigrant culture, looking out for each other, or looking out for
themselves, depending on how legal they are.
Damned fine movie. Don't see the movie when you're too sleepy, though,
because you'll be very suggestible as Okwe goes without sleep (thanks to
kaht) for a long stretch of the movie, viz. Insomnia.
Go see it! It's good and maybe good for you, but it won't hit you over
the head with that fact.
-LAN3
Also, Amelie! Cute as ever, but doesn't smile as much.
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