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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Tale of Desparate Travel, October 22, 2004
The cinematography of this film is sparse and naked, the pacing as if you are following the tale of lives, the acting like there is no acting at all, and the subject matter relevant. If you need edited and spliced quick action pacing and effects, go elsewhere. If you care about the broadening of horizons and want to learn more about the experience of a middle-east refugee, watch this film.
Michael Winterbottom, the director of In This World, make some important choices. One, his casting of actual refugees instead of professional actors, lend great authenticity to the story. My favorite aspect of the movie is the location shooting in places rarely viewed by a Western audience. The tale starts in a border refugee camp between Afghanistan and Pakistan outside of Peshawar. A youth, brave and wise beyond his years, and an older relative take off on a journey to the promised land of London. On the way they go through Quetta, Qom, Teheran, Turkey, Belgium, and eventually on to London. The journey is grueling and harrowing and makes the refugee camp look like another form of paradise.
The pacing may be slow and there is a lot of silence in the movie but the sense of travel, trust and deserved mistrust stays with you. People put their lives in the hands of human traffickers all for the dream of something better...if they survive to reach something better.
If you care about international issues of refugees and their plight, you will be rewarded by this film. If you are interested in some of the dynamics between Afghanistan and Pakistan, you will be glad you took this one in. If you only tend towards mainstream flicks and have a need to be entertained, well look elsewhere.
--MMW
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Refugees' Dangerous Journey from Pakistan to England, December 20, 2003
"In This World" is about a journey of two refugees from Pakistan, entirely shot in a semi-documentary style (meanig digital camera). Their hard times during the trek are realisticly presented largely owing to these non-professionals, and the film sometimes blurs the borderline between the reality and fiction. Jamal (Jamal Udin Torabi) is an orphan living in the camp for refugees in Pakistan. He works at a brick factory, but the wages he receives are incredibly low. In the meantime, it is decided that Enayatullah (Enayatullah), Jamal's cousin, should go to one of the relative's in London, and Jamal jumps at this rare opportunity to see the world outside. The only problem is, their journey is nothing like business trip; as refugees, they have to hide from the authorities that would send them back to Pakistan if they should ever be discovered. That last part is not the only obstacle they meet on the way. Jamal and Enayatullah have to depend on the smugglers who might not be trustworthy as the huge amount of money they have to give suggests. And even if they turn honest, the two travellers have to go on the hazardous route that might possibly take their lives away. Michael Winterbottom, prolific English director, is no stranger to this subject matter; you might remember his "Welcome to Sarajevo" which covers the similar territory of refugees in Europe. However, "In This World" is free of any political messages or preaching words. It succeeds as the film is always about the two believable protagonists. Actually, director Winterbottom says that he was inspired to make this film when he heard the tragic news about the deaths of Chinese refugees found in a container at Dover Port. Considering the impact of shocking news that really happened in 2000, the film is quiet and even serene, and emotionally subdued. But that method has its own defects; "In This World" is certainly real, but at the same time some viewers might find it a bit superficial. At least, the film can be called episodic, and though each episode is credibly shown on the screen, the film never allows us to understand the feelings of the two refugees at deeper level. In other words, we don't know why they head for Europe in spite of the enoumous danger waiting for them. The film's calmed down manner is successful, but it deprives the story of any dramatic elements. Excuse me for giving the last complaint. Otherwise I find the film's credible portrait of the two refugees very touching, in particular when they exchange ordinary, daily conversations like buying ice cream. And the film is good at capturing the air of the dusty streets, crowded towns, modern cities (see the fashionable ladies in Tehran), and rocky mountains in Pakistan. One of the best Winterbottom films, and one of the best from UK, too.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Refugees' Perilous Journey from Pakistan to England, December 18, 2003
"In This World" by prolific British director Michael Winterbottom ("24 Hour People", "Jude" and many others) follows the two refugees' journey from the camp in Pakistan to England. The film, shot in documentary style (but not really documentary), will show you how the two characters Jamal and Enayatullah have to endure many uncomfortable things during the long, long course. 15-year-old Jamal (played by Jamal Udin Torabi) is an orphan boy living in Pakistan, his parents being refugees from Afganistan. He was born in this camp for refugees, and is working at a brick factory, receiving very low wages. Now, it is decided that his cousin Enatatullah (played by Enayatullah) goes to London where one of his relatives is living, and Jamal also makes up his mind to go there, accompanying his cousin to the end. But they have to travel very long, sometimes taking a very dangerous route, always hiding from the authorities that will bring them back to Pakistan if they are caught. Moreover, they often have to trust their money and lives to the smugglers who might not be as trustworthy as the money they pay suggests. And even if these smugglers turn honest, the journey is still very hazardous, maybe deadly. The story is not complicated. The film's point is its realistic descriptions of the lives of the two refugees on the way to England, and director Winterbottom succeeds in catching the atomosphere of each country where the two characters pass. Compare the rocky mountains in Pakistan, and urban streets of Tehran, central city of Iran, and you see what I mean. Unlike his "Welcome to Sarajevo," Winterbottom avoids making this film political in any way, possibly because of the European people's mixed feelings about the refugees in Europe. I do not know, but it is clear that the camera is not willing to show the motives of Jamal and Enayatullah, and it does not show the responce to them on the side of the people who receive them. The film somehow refuses to be emotional, and certainly does not preach. That does not mean that "In This World" does not show any daily, natural feelings of the two protagonists. On the contray, it does, but it does only in details, such as jokes they exchange, or ice creams they eat. And these details, not indictment, bring life to the film. The film comprises a string of episodes, and you cannot expect something like character development or sentimental parting. Still the film looks very realistic without them. The method works, but has its own defects as well, making the whole story look somehow superficial. Perhaps we need more emotional touch to relate to these people, or perhaps their lives look repetitious to us. But surely, if I were Jamal, I would feel the same way the film's Jamal would -- risk my life, and go to England. "In This World" has that kind of power, the power only a good visual sense can have. See this one, and share the world they live in.
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