gricey_sandgrounder

I knew absolutely nothing of this story. But the synopsis intrigued me and I felt seeing it on International Women's Day felt right to check this out.

While there was nothing notably bad about it, it felt like a missed opportunity. The whole vibe felt more like a film made for television in every aspect. However, the content is interesting and you can feel the passion and drive the people involved are putting into this project.

If the film had more starpower in front of the camera and more capable minds behind it, this would be worth your time on the big screen.

I'd either find a documentary (if there is one) or wait until this is available to stream.

This was certainly the type of film I needed right now.

While it is billed as a comedy drama, I just wasn't expecting this much of a fun vibe to it.

It's a very grounded story with charismatic characters and memorable situations.

There are themes of our addiction of wanting to be accepted, still finding the positives in life at an old age, learning to love the life you already have and the importance of music.

The performances were great value. Both Sasson Gabay and Rita Shukrin had real sweetness and charm to their performances that felt highly engaging and very natural. Both by themselves and together, this was a lot of fun to watch and develop.

A couple of parts on the technical side surprisingly stood out. The lighting was effectively moody and the score and soundtrack was very memorable.

While I feel some parts could have been explored more and certain sub-plots didn't feel fully resolved, this ended up being a very pleasant watch. There's engaging characters and a good amount of comedy that had me laughing fairly regularly.

Whilst it is also funny, there is also an interesting story about old age and recognition. A crowd-pleaser that sadly will probably not get much notice for a mainstream audience. I hope not.

Stories about immigrants is becoming more and more common in the cinema. It's sadly an ever growing topic. But a lot of these films with this premise come from either one story or a series of stories from one particular country.

This particular tale has great authenticity both in its plot and homemade style with its hand-held camerawork.

There are some tough sequences and all of that along with sound character development makes for a tense and dramatic second half. It was almost like watching a documentary.

A lot of it is thanks to the two strong performances of Joely Mbundu and Pablo Schils. Their connection and on-screen friendship felt very believable and natural.

There's a lot they are having to deal and it paints a very interesting picture on how immigrants in this part of the world are treated.

I could be picky and say that the ending does leave a few loose ends and some of the choices felt rushed. But I didn't think it was a major drawback as it still some tense sequences that had me totally gripped.

I was surprised that it's just less than 90 minutes long given the subject matter. But I think what we got gave us enough of a glimpse into this dark and tough world.

Our investment is thanks to the two leads who give off strong natural sympathy and put us on their side early on.

The content is tough at times and the documentary approach gave it the rawness to make it work.