What an absolutely wonderful film this was, one of my favourites this year. It has a distinct Wes Anderson feeling to it with the use of static, symmetrical shots and quirky characters and dialogue. However, unlike with Anderson, it isn't overdone, and the more comical aspects are very well balanced with the more serious subject matter and themes. The lead performance from Amir El-Masry was revelatory, and there was excellent support from Vikash Bhai, Ole Arebiyi and Kwabena Ansah.

Witty, poignant, but ultimately hopeful, Limbo is a wonderful film that is essential viewing in the current climate.

For goodness sake this is some island in Scotland a terrible place and dreadful weather where we are a sad for people called refugees. The people from Syria, Afghanistan, Ghana and Nigeria stuck together while they wait and hope getting hopefully accepting asylum and then moving somewhere like London or at least somewhere else. Someone dies and other sent by the police and others make a phone call to their family. There are some amusing moments but not many and never is really clear who will be okay but then I guess this is what this is really like. Maybe just by luck if you get somewhere lovely and anyway it is better than in a war torn country.

As "Limbo" (2020 release from Scotland; 103 min.) opens, a group of refugees is taking a "Cultural Awareness" class somewhere in a desolate part of Scotland. Turns out all these refugees are waiting whether their asylum claim will be accepted or rejected by the British authorities. We are introduced to Omar, a refugee from Syria, whose brother has chosen to stay there, while his parents now live in Istanbul, Omar happens to be good at playing the oud instrument that he's brought along all the way from Syria. At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: this is the debut film of writer-director Ben Sharrock. And what a debut it is! The refugee crisis is far more present in Europe than it ever will be in the US, and is a political hot potato. But forgotten amidst all the rhetoric is that the refugee crisis involves real, in-the-flesh people who have endured things that we can only imagine, let alone understand. The film centers around a small group of refugees who have been shipped of to an island in Scotland, lest they bother anyone in society (this is in fact what several European governments have done, to keep refugees as far away from the general population as possible while they await their asylum claims). The film makes a number of astute observations about the human toll of the refugee experience. Some of these observations come across as "quietly funny" (typically the "fish out of water" type experience),but after that initial impression it is clear that these observations are painfully poignant. The no-names cast is great, none more so than the guy playing the Omar character. The photography of remote Scotland is as beautiful as it is harsh (with never-ending blowing winds). More than anything else, this movie reminds us that compassion and empathy for others is a quality that never goes out of style.

"Limbo" was supposed to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival until that was canceled by COVID-19. Instead it premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim. There is good reason this movie is currently rated 92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes! It was released in select theaters in Spring of this year (it never came to my arthouse theater here in Cincinnati). It recently started playing on HBO, and is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it). If you have any interest in the refugee crisis, or simply are in the mood for a top quality film, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it on HBO on Demand, HBO Max, Amazon Instant Video or on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.