Review of Saint Judy (2018) by Maxebryan — 05 Mar 2019

Saint Judy is a fantastic biopic, one that made such a lasting impression on me that I felt compelled to write about and promote it. Ms. Judith L. Woods, an immigration lawyer, takes on the case of Asefa Sachwar in which her pursuit of asylum in America, in order to escape the Taliban in Afghanistan, is being challenged by the US Government (they held her in detainment for over a year before Woods was able to take on the case and represent her).

This is a mild spoiler, but the case ends up being a landmark case for women seeking asylum in America (I say mild because I’m sure it’s on Wikipedia). Ms. Wood’s, and Asefa’s, story is all the more relevant and poignant when considering the political climate today and all of the choppy water surrounding immigration.

However, something great about this film is that it does not set out to push a particular agenda or appeal to a particular politically motivated crowd. It simply sets out to tell the story of a lawyer and her client, and in the process helps to paint a picture for those that are too often depicted as evil and criminals long before they even step foot on American soil.

Nowadays, a discussion about immigration is nothing but hostile and will automatically place you in one of two categories, liberal or conservative, which will consequentially place you at the receiving end of various and numerous insults and attacks.

This film does not seek to attack either of the aforementioned groups, or even address them, it instead seeks to retell a true story without skimping on any of the emotion; of which it does beautifully.