I Was a Stranger

There have been films in the past that chronicles humanity and how important it is lest we become an extinct species. The way we treat each other for the short time we are on this planet is staggeringly awful, especially the farther we travel into the future, and it doesn't seem to getting any better. Now, we have "I Was a Stranger" offered to show us that, no matter what happens to us individually, we are still fellow humans and should be treated as such.

When a Syrian doctor, Doctor Amira Homsi (Yasmine Al Massri) is forced to flee Aleppo with her young daughter, Rasha (Massa Daoud) one desperate choice sets off a chain of events that ripples across borders and pulls four strangers into the same storm. A smuggler, Marwan (Omar Sy) trying to save his son. A soldier, Mustafa (Yahya Mahayni) wrestling with his conscience. A poet, Fathi (Ziad Bakri) searching for home. A Greek coast guard captain, Stavros (Constantine Markoulakis) caught between duty and mercy. Their paths collide on one night in the Mediterranean, where survival and humanity is revealed in its rawest form. "I Was a Stranger" is a tense, deeply human story about the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love. 

This was intensely directed with grit and compassion by Brandt Andersen ("Refugee" '20--a short). This filmmaker doesn't have a stream of films to his credit, but considering he spent years over in the area that this film centers on to see for himself how challenging this place is, speaks volumes in my opinion. He was able to tell his story of these individuals' plight with so much pathos and expressions that emitted from these actors. He will receive more work. It was written as well by Brandt Andersen ("Refugee" '20--a short) in an equally intense and sobering way. Again, he doesn't have a plethora of experience, but considering his desire and passion to delve into the culture in which he was writing about speaks volumes as well. The writing was tight, gripping, cohesive and concise. Even though he wrote this in a way that overlapped from one stranger to the next, by films' end, they were inexplicably connected by the connecting events. At first, one might not think that this story doesn't connect, however, be patient; the longer the film runs, the more it does connect, and that's fine writing. 

Again, Brandt Andersen's sole reason in making this film was to showcase how we are connected even when we don't think so. It's the humanity he is attempting to show and the more we have differences, the more we are truly connected. This is something we all can learn from in spades. Even though the writing, directing and acting in this is consummate, not all can see this because of its sheer intensity, so be forewarned. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                       Rated: PG-13                                       104mins.