Review of Dheepan (2015) by Fong K — 04 Sep 2016

Down-to-earth and thought-provoking Dheepan is a formidable piece of art-house film-making which impresses with its realism, small story and depiction of refugees' lives in times when this topic is extremely sensitive for all Europeans.

The movie tracks the story of a three Sri Lankan refugees who poses as a family (a father, a wife and a daughter) in order to be able to escape to Europe. Once they land to France and they are processed through the immigration authorities they have not only to re-build everything from scratch, to learn how to be part of the French society, but also to stay together as "a family" for the sake of being able to stay in France. Unfortunately, they get relocated to neighbourhood torn by crime and violence, which makes coping with their new lives ever more difficult.

Jacques Audiard's delivery is mesmerizingly realistic due to several reasons. First of all, the story is far from being melodramatic or sentimental. It is dark, raw and at moments gut-wrenching as the three characters have to struggle everyday with cultural differences, violence, language difficulties, uncertainties, etc. The story is kept strictly personal and intimate so that you could really feel all the hardships and all small reasons to love life. The second reason for the amazing level of realism is the fact that the director casted non-professional actors which will make you feel as if you are looking at real refugees. Last, but not least, the cinematography and the settings are painfully realistic simply because they do exist in the way they are presented to the viewers. Shot in actual locations the movie has a shocking level of realism.

The only flaw, I could think of is the pacing and the weird climax which is split in two parts making the final quarter uneven and chaotic. This, of course, is only a minor issue which is easily forgiven amidst the whole striking realism of the movie.

In conclusion, Dheepan is a piece of cinematography that will please the fans of the art-house genre and those searching for a serious film-making, filled with provoking social context without melodrama and sentiments. Simple and touching, this movie is a little gem crafted by Jacques Audiard.