Fremont is a drama about Afghan refugee Donya(Anaita Wali Zada), a former translator living in Fremont a city outside San Francisco. Donya works at a small fortune cookie factory in SF with her friend Joanna(Hilda Schmelling), goes to sessions with her therapist Dr. Anthony(Gregg Turkington), and searches for companionship while grappling with insomnia and survivors guilt.
Zada holds the center of the film with a grace and melancholic wistfulness, not doing a lot overtly but through situation and presence conveying a lot. Turkington is the best he's ever been towing the line between comedy and authenticity, he's surprisingly(for him) emotionally connected and compassionate in the role which is a real surprise and treat. Schmelling serves a very necessary function and the character is fun and relatable with a stand out karaoke scene. Jeremy Allen White has what amounts to an extended cameo but he too brings a gentleness and gravitas the film needs. Eddie Tang as Donya's boss is also wonderful and has a couple really fun engaging monologues. All the supporting cast, at times, convey their dialogue in a somewhat stilted manner, there's an affect. Whether its intent is one to underscore Zada's isolation as a refugee or as a comedic choice it works and functions to give the film more style, more identity.
Shot in a rich, striking monochrome with a boxy aspect ratio, on location in Fremont the film has a vibrant, thrumming life to it. The plot isn't much to speak of, more slice-of-life, and as a result the breezy narrative is able to convey its complicated themes with an ease and beauty that is effecting but never not thoughtful, and never long without some absurd or pointed humor. There is a wryness and hopefulness that comes through along with the solitude and searching. Similar to Jim Jarmusch in aesthetic and in content(thinking of my beloved Paterson specifically). It's a triumph in indie filmmaking and a film that speaks directly and poignantly to the America we live in today.
A must see. A definitive counterpoint to those claiming that the days of cinema are numbered.
Currently in theaters, coming soon to VOD.
Don't Miss It.
No comments:
Post a Comment