The plight of asylum seekers/illegal immigrants in the UK has recently become a very hot political potato. Groups of organised racists (or as some mealy-mouthed politicians would have it, ‘concerned citizens’) have attacked the buildings where some of the world’s most desperate people are kept under guard as they wait to learn whether they will be allowed to stay. In the meantime they are not allowed to work, fed prison-style meals, are given less than a pound a day to live on (approximately a single American dollar) and otherwise are left to their own devices. The idea is they will agree to be sent back to wherever it is they came from, but be serious. If home was so great no one would put up with this kind of misery. Dreamers is about four women who have done their best to do the right thing in this painful system which is carefully and deliberately designed to make that impossible. It is a wonderful movie about the limits of self-determination and the importance of solidarity.
Isio (Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo) is a Nigerian lesbian who fled to the UK after her sexuality was discovered, and although she is now caught up in the asylum system she is confident that a fair hearing will allow her to stay in London. Her roommate Farah (Ann Akinjirin), another Nigerian, is not so hopeful, and tries to teach Isio how to play the game to her advantage. Isio isn’t interested, of course, but after some unpleasant encounters cleaves to Farah and her two friends, the Ghanaian Nana (Diana Yekinni) and the Iranian Atefeh (Aiysha Hart). The only men on the site work there, and Isio’s obvious sexuality puts her at risk from some of the other residents, almost all of whom are also from Africa. The whole experience is horrifying to the gentle Isio, who manages to hold onto an air of temporarily embarrassed privilege for much longer than expected. She’s the only person who reads the books in the library, for example. But when the game is rigged against you, it’s somewhat foolish to play by the rules.
Writer-director Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor clearly has enormous sympathy for her characters and has been very careful to ensure that they are more than caricatures. Anna Patarakina’s thoughtful cinematography makes the cramped spaces and the almost entirely indoor, institutional setting feel as broad and open as possible. The four women’s backstories are organically and sympathetically told, making it impossible to judge them for attempting to stay alive against horrible, impossible circumstances specifically designed to kill them. The world outside the center isn’t shown at all, a wise choice, and the workers inside are mostly good at their jobs but focused on the rules instead of the people. The one bleeding-heart liberal, the art teacher, is a figure of fun on all sides. Atefeh works in the kitchen, mostly to pass the time, and when Isio joins her there she begins to reconsider Farah’s advice. The question is whether Isio will figure a way out of the trap she’s in, and if her sisters in trouble can help her against the ticking clock.
A movie this focused stands or falls on the strength of its performances, but fortunately Dreamers stands. Ms. Adékoluẹjo does incredible work as someone who cannot quite believe that things have come to this and while Ms. Akinjirin has the tougher part as the person who already knows the things the heroine must learn, her patience towards the more naïve woman is so kind that you can’t help but admire it. The scene where the roommates explain why they each had to leave Nigeria in fear of their lives is so upsetting that it’s hard to imagine anyone would deny them the chance to live an ordinary life in the same city as I do.
But even as Ms. Gharoro-Akpojotor very carefully tugs at the heartstrings, there’s nothing in this movie that will cause the protesting racists to see the error of their ways. This is not a complaint; it’s wonderful to see a work of art that isn’t interested in appeasement. It knows what the right thing is and dares you to agree with it. This will limit Dreamers’ audience to the bleeding-heart liberals and the gays who already know the message. But sometimes, especially in the face of creeping violence, the moral high ground is more than enough.
Dreamers recently played at the London Film Festival.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
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