There has always been something alluring about films inspired or set in the backdrop of true events. And I don’t mean when the industry abuses that saying; like, yes Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a good film but it’s not the true events of Edward Gein and the like. No, I mean true events in history, no matter how ancient or recent that still hold some power to this day. It’s from this thinking that we get powerful classics like 12 Years a Slave. It is also from this mindset that In Another Life comes into being.
In Another Life is the telling of a story set in an event more recent than most. This is the story of a man from Syria, who is trapped in the Jungle, a refugee camp in Calais in 2015 and 2016. He, and a number of others, is trying to get to England, where he can reunite with his wife. Needless to say, this is an important and rather touchy subject. Not only is it a recent issue, but it is one that is far from over, even if Calais Jungle itself is gone.
What we have here is a look at what life was like for the people trapped within these camps. Sometimes unapologetically so. We get some uncomfortable scenes here, chief of which are the treatment of the refugees at the hands of traffickers, who see them as little more than profit, if they see anything more at all, and an uncomfortable moment when refugee men and women are forced to strip down for thuggish entertainment. Moments like these are hard to offend, but that is what we should feel. We should be upset by what we see and hear in this film. And when it succeeds, we do feel the outrage. But, sadly, there are one too many times when it doesn’t succeed.
I wasn’t sure why, but I knew I should be feeling more than I was throughout the film as a whole; not just in these select moments. It took me a while to put my finger on it, but I found that, to me, my disconnect mostly came down to the films execution. Personally, I saw no reason for it to be in black-and-white. There is nothing wrong with that stylistic approach, but there had to be a reason behind it. I found it made the film feel more stylish when it should have been grit and dirty. Also, save for a handful of key moments, there was nothing shown within this film that felt overly cinematic – this had me wondering, why wasn’t this a documentary. Or perhaps a mocumentary. I feel that such a style would have worked wonders for what was trying to be achieved. This is ever present with how most of what we are given is told more than it is shown. This works at times, a discussion about the shower situation at these camps made my jaw drop with how appalled I was, and a moment where the lead uses a hose to wash his only shoes caught my attention. Other times, I could have done with being shown more to help me feel the moment better. Most of what was film lent itself to the mockumentary style, so the decision to go with a black-and-white arthouse style was an odd one to me.
I do, however, admire what this film was aiming for. This film depicts the desperation of the refugee situation in such places. In doing so it reveals a form of racism that most of us don’t even consider. The feeling that they should be doing better, when really these people have been given the bare-minimum and even that gets taken from them. The writing does help these emotions find their way when it really counts. The acting, while not great and without a real stand out performance, is good and sombre. What emotions these characters needed to get out, the actors delivered. A range was needed to achieve this, so we are clearly dealing with talented people who I hope find more success in their careers. It is just the directing style that causes a disconnect between the emotions of the film and the audience. And considering that this is a film made for emotional responses, this is a major issue.
If the mockumentary style was deliberately avoided, then what we needed was something unapologetic thought its runtime, like 12 Years a Slave. This would have delivered more power to the story and message I think. But, as it is, In Another Life is a good and somewhat important film for our time. Though, I cannot say how time will treat it. This is a story that needed telling, but the direction was a little mishandled for me. I am glad I have seen it, despite the issues I find with it. I didn’t leave with nothing and it did raise my awareness for the issue – for that I shall applaud it. It is one of those times when the story to the film is a lot more interesting than the film itself. I feel like, as a film, I needed more from it. As a message, however, it is one you need to hear.
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