This film follows the fortunes – probably the wrong word – of two Afghan refugees – Jamal, about 14, and his cousin Enayatullah as they make their way from the refugee camp on the borders of Pakistan through Iran, Turkey, Italy, Sangatte and eventually to England – well Jamal makes it -Enayatullah dies on the route.
The film directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Tony Grisoni follows the actual route. So we see the dusty long roads – the crowding in the cities -the sleazy coffee bars – the border crossings – the border guards – the beauty of the Iran/Turkey border – Sangatte – hostility – friendliness – and comradeship.
There is a lot of good work – with mostly untrained actors – all the scenes look naturalistic – and are believable. This film really does make you despair – why do we not spend just a fraction of the money – we spend on war – on helping these refugees have a decent life?
This is a film I would strongly recommend.