LIMBO
LIMBO
Four men in a detention centre for migrants awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications. At the heart of the story is Omar – a young, talented musician from Syria, for whom the ud, a traditional instrument, is his greatest treasure whilst in a foreign land. Alongside him is Farhad, an Afghan Freddie Mercury fan who does his best to emulate his idol.
Then there are the very young Abedi from Ghana and Wasef from Nigeria. The centre is stuck in the middle of nowhere in Scotland, and the emptiness of the place makes the numbness that they are already feeling even worse.
Ben Sharrock builds his film from snapshots of life. The plot is minimal here, as not much happens in the lives of Omar and the others. The semi-surreal situations reflect the absurdity of the immigrants’ reality: the system deprives them of any chance of integrating into society, while officially that is precisely what is expected of them. Consequently, LIMBO plays on atmosphere, with long shots of a vast, austere landscape and an economy of means.
Yet Sharrock also brings humour into this listless world, paradoxically making the sadness and tragedy of it all more acute. It is a bleak yet tender film. Though its characters remain mired in apathy, they still try to summon some spark of life. The filmmakers restore what has been taken from them: their dignity, agency, individuality and humanity. In levelling an accusation against the soulless machinery of the state, they lay bare the cruelty of the modern world.
Text: Karolina Kosińska
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