Review of London River (2009) by Walter M — 13 Jul 2013
On July 7, 2005, Elisabeth(Brenda Blethyn) is watching the news when reports start to come in of the terrorist bombings in London and tries calling her daughter there. After a couple of days and no response, she leaves her home in Guernsey and travels to London. When her daughter is not in at her apartment, her landlord(Roschdy Zem) kindly lets Elisabeth in to wait for her. Meanwhile, Ousmane(Sotigui Kouyate) has arrived from France to look for his son who he has not seen since he was six and asks a local imam(Sami Bouajila) for help.
"London River" is a poignant, evocative and devastating movie that shows that sometimes simple is the best way to go, headlined as it is by a couple of superb performances. The movie also works well in bringing a huge tragedy down to a deeply personal level. And making it more interesting is the subject of Elisabeth's ignorance of not only her daughter's life in London but also of multicultural London in general, far away from her isolated farm, just as Ousmane also has little idea of what his son is like now grown up. But like any parent, Elisabeth and Ousmane worry about their children, even now that they are adults.
This review of London River (2009) was written by Walter M on 13 Jul 2013.
London River has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
