This is not a film for those without a strong heart, as it shows in a very real way what goes on among the desperate people of third world countries living illegally in London. It shows what desperation can do to a human being in order to survive.
Stephen Frears is a fearless director. Most of the work he has done stands behind him as a statement to his craft. He is working here on a screen play by Steve Knight. It is a story about what happens to people that must go to a foreign country in order to survive and try to make a living in the worst possible circumstances, just to help the ones they leave behind. In this case, the people that are trying to better themselves, as it's the case in the film, get much more of what they've bargained for.
The revelation in this picture is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is just brilliant as Okwe, the illegal immigrant at the center of the story. He is a decent man who finds himself amongst unscrupulous people behind the sordid operation that goes on in the Baltic Hotel. This is an actor who can carry the picture; he is a natural. Mr. Ejiofor has the unfortunate claim of not having a name or isn't a "star" by Hollywood's standard. Just imagine what a Denzel Washington, or a Samuel L. Jackson would have earned by making this movie!
Equally fabulous is Sergi Lopez, the man behind the dirty things going on in the hotel. His Senor Juan is, without a doubt, one of creepiest individuals in films in a while. He is a repulsive man who is "transformed" at the end, through no wish of his own. Mr. Lopez who has appeared in several films in his native Spain and in France is a chameleon. He goes from one picture to the next never duplicating the work he has done on the previous screen appearance. He is always an asset to any film.
The rest of the cast is very good too. Audrey Tautou as Semay, the Turkish immigrant that shares her flat with Okwe is used very effectively by the director. Gone are the cute excesses of Amelie. Another notable presence is Sophie Okoneko as a prostitute with the heart in the right place.
The end of the film seems to prove there's justice in the world after all. The same system that creates a living hell for Okwe and Semay while they are underground gives them new identities to face a better future somewhere else.
Stephen Frears is a fearless director. Most of the work he has done stands behind him as a statement to his craft. He is working here on a screen play by Steve Knight. It is a story about what happens to people that must go to a foreign country in order to survive and try to make a living in the worst possible circumstances, just to help the ones they leave behind. In this case, the people that are trying to better themselves, as it's the case in the film, get much more of what they've bargained for.
The revelation in this picture is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is just brilliant as Okwe, the illegal immigrant at the center of the story. He is a decent man who finds himself amongst unscrupulous people behind the sordid operation that goes on in the Baltic Hotel. This is an actor who can carry the picture; he is a natural. Mr. Ejiofor has the unfortunate claim of not having a name or isn't a "star" by Hollywood's standard. Just imagine what a Denzel Washington, or a Samuel L. Jackson would have earned by making this movie!
Equally fabulous is Sergi Lopez, the man behind the dirty things going on in the hotel. His Senor Juan is, without a doubt, one of creepiest individuals in films in a while. He is a repulsive man who is "transformed" at the end, through no wish of his own. Mr. Lopez who has appeared in several films in his native Spain and in France is a chameleon. He goes from one picture to the next never duplicating the work he has done on the previous screen appearance. He is always an asset to any film.
The rest of the cast is very good too. Audrey Tautou as Semay, the Turkish immigrant that shares her flat with Okwe is used very effectively by the director. Gone are the cute excesses of Amelie. Another notable presence is Sophie Okoneko as a prostitute with the heart in the right place.
The end of the film seems to prove there's justice in the world after all. The same system that creates a living hell for Okwe and Semay while they are underground gives them new identities to face a better future somewhere else.