London River (2009)

Directed by: Rachid Bouchareb | 87 minutes | drama | Actors: Brenda Blethyn, Sotigui Kouyaté, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Marc Baylis, Bernard Blancan, Gurdepak Chaggar, Aurélie Eltvedt, Diveen Henry, Francis Magee

‘London River’ is set against the backdrop of the London bombings on July 5, 2005. The film opens in Guernsey, where widow Elizabeth Sommers (Brenda Blethyn) attends a church service, and receives the message to love one’s neighbor above all else. . At home she hears on TV about the bombings in London and tries to contact her daughter Jane – who lives in London. She only gets her answering machine and leaves a message. Since her daughter moved to London, she has not visited her and only spoke to her by phone. Then the statue goes to Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyaté), an African, who has been working as a forester in France for many years. Ousmane hasn’t seen his son Ali since he was six, but has been called by Ousmane’s wife who has continued to live in Africa. She too has not been able to get in touch with Ali and asks Ousmane to look for him. Separately, they travel to London.

Elizabeth only has an address from Jane; Ousmane can only look for a name and only has a very old childhood photo. He does not speak English and seeks help in a French-speaking Muslim environment. Jane turns out to live in a neighborhood where foreigners are in the majority. The dismay of Elizabeth, who ends up in a completely different cosmopolitan society from the quiet and safe, but above all also white and prosperous Guernsey, is deeply affected and well portrayed by Brenda Blethyn. Once at her daughter’s home, Elizabeth soon finds out that she had an apparently foreign boyfriend. She starts putting up posters in various places with pictures of daughter Jane. Ousmane is also looking and with the help of an imam nevertheless finds a photo and the address of his son. Armed with a group photo from an education Ali attended, he sets off, but on the way sees a photo of a missing girl that he recognizes from the group photo with his son. Behind the phone number is Elizabeth. Coincidence allows them to meet like this. On a first meeting, she is stunned that her daughter apparently had a colored boyfriend. Her behavior towards Ousmane is blunt and dismissive. However, Jane and Ali appear to have a close friendship.

Ousmane and Elizabeth now share their child’s disappearance. After this, a dramatic quest develops that brings Elizabeth into contact with the multicultural society that was previously far removed from her. Little by little, Elizabeth’s prejudices towards Ali and Ousmane are crumbling. Elizabeth’s surprise is genuine and believable. Later we follow them in their unavoidable way past police stations, missing persons lists and wounded hospitals.

Director Bouchareb carefully avoids the obvious too easy clichés. The drama is certainly believable, Elizabeth’s prejudices are more provincially naive than racial in nature. A slight point of criticism is that the scenario allows the two parents to meet each other quite by chance in a metropolis like London. It is convincingly interpreted that during the search the so diverse characters and personalities of Elizabeth and Ousmane gain more and more insight into what binds them, despite these major differences. ‘London River’ is somewhat reminiscent of the films of Ken Loach in terms of style, who packs a lot of social realism as an undertone in his films. huh

Although it is a dramatic event, the film story has been deliberately kept small and thus retains the human dimension without containing melodrama. It should be noted that in these modern times Elizabeth can be called almost unworldly compared to the multicultural society of a metropolis like London. The locations are extremely atmospheric, the liveliness of such neighborhoods is well affected. The mixture of the scenario with TV images about the attack gives the film an extra load and dimension. Brenda Blethyn, but especially Sotigui Kouyaté play their part modestly and strongly convincing and credible. Their interplay is magnificent, the restrained emotions convincing. They lift the film story in itself sublimely by acting. A convincing, realistic and strongly acted human drama.