ADÚ (2020)

 Adu gives us a different glimpse into the global refugee crises.

Adu is an original Netflix film from Spain. The main story is that of a little boy as he journeys from Africa to Spain to be with his father. 

The scene of the film takes place in Melilla. African immigrants are trying desperately to jump the barbed wire fence into Spain. One is caught in the barbed wire. When he finally frees himself from the barbs, he is hit on the head by one of the border agents and he falls to his death. This causes the rest of the refugees to become angry and retaliate. 

From there we travel to Cameroon and are introduced to Adu (Moustapha Oumarou) and his older sister Alika (Zayiddiya Dissou). She is teaching him to ride a bike until they encounter poachers and see them hacking off a dead elephant's tusks. 

Gonzalo works on the reservation where the elephant was killed and is informed that the reservation will be shutting down. Meanwhile his daughter is sent to live with him in order to overcome her drug addictions. 

The poachers arrive at Adu and Alika's home to kill them for what they saw, but the children manage to escape while their mother does not. They travel to their aunt's house who arranges for a human trafficker to help them reunite with their father in Spain. The smuggler takes them as far as the airport and proceeds to tell the children to sneak into the plane themselves using the wheel wells. The children sneak into a plane bound for Senegal and as the wheel well is not temperature controlled little Alika doesn't make it. It's one of many haunting images in the film.

While in the custody of the Senegalese immigration, Adu meets a Massar. The two escape and Massar (Adam Nourou) begins caring for Adu and the two begin their own journey to Spain.

While all this is happening, Gonzalo and his daughter head to Morocco where Gonzalo has another home and has his daughter take drug tests every day.

The border guards we met at the beginning of the film go to trial for the death of the refugee, but are cleared of any wrongdoing. Masser and Adu reach the border, and knowing his health is deteriorating, Massar in a desperate attempt, ties himself and Adu to rubber flotation devices and begins to swim across the sea to Spain. 

Adu does a wonderful job of showcasing the juxtaposition between the refugees and the privileges of those denying them entrance into the country. This story takes place in a different part of the world, but there is no difference in treatment for refugees all over the world. 

The acting is phenomenal especially from Oumarou and Nourou who both transition seamlessly from children having fun and children facing some of the most difficult hardships imaginable. The film is beautifully shot and the it doesn't shy away from the realities refugees often experience while seeking a better life for themselves. The portrayals of the refugees is realistic, but they are not portrayed as poor victims.

Any time scenes are located at the border we get glimpses of the ways refugees are often treated as they crowd together trying to make it across before the border closes while others would rather risk their life at sea or jumping the fence. 

There is no simple solution for the refugee crisis, but the most important thing to remember is that they are people. Seeing them as less than for seeking a better life is horrendous. When we start seeing them as people and not as law breakers, progress can begin to happen. I always have difficulty putting what I'm feeling into words, but I want people to have to stop resorting to extremes in order to live and the only way to do that is through change. 

The Father (2020)

 

Anthony Hopkins stars in The Father as Antony, a man suffering from Alzheimer’s. He is confused by many different aspects of his life. His daughter Anne (Olivia Coleman) visits him every day trying to find the best arrangements for him. Antony can be cruel especially to his doting daughter.

Antony remembers things or maybe he doesn’t as the film weaves different memories together in a way that makes it unclear what actually happened and what has been jumbled. The passage of time is unclear. Antony is convinced there is nothing wrong with him. Hopkins masterfully shows Antony’s confusion though and his attempts at playing everything off as if it’s okay. 

Florian Zeller wrote the play the film is based on as well as the adaptation. He directed the film as well and this works in his favor as every nuance is as he intended on the page. The film a faithful adaptation. It’s almost scene for scene exactly as it is in the play with minor changes of course. In the play, the set slowly becomes more and more bare, but in the film Zeller uses the film medium to put us in a labyrinth of sorts. Antony’s flat changes and there are a lot of shots of the hallways and doors and the audience never truly knows what the flat looks like. It adds to our confusion helping us understand what Antony sees.

Olivia Coleman and Anthony Hopkins are superb and I can see why Hopkins nabbed the Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role. Coleman is getting more and more recognition which is definitely deserved. You can see the pain in her eyes anytime she is berated by her father. She holds her own against Hopkins. I can’t say enough good things about her.

There are moments in which different actors play the same characters. Hopkins effortlessly shows the confusion as he tries to piece together who these people are. He switches seamlessly from cruel to charming. When he meets his new caregiver played by Imogen Poots, he charms her until he suddenly turns on her without warning. 

It is the final scene in the movie that truly shows Hopkins’ ability. He has lost everything. It breaks your heart in the worst way. This last scene killed me. We all know Hopkins is one of the greatest actors of our time, but this performance adds a whole new layer of respect for his abilities.