Pi@LFF: Review of 'Limbo' by Ben Sharrock
Featured in the BFI London Film Festival 2020, Ben Sharrock’s “Limbo” explores the arduous asylum seeking process through a blend of emotional intensity and cathartic humour.
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Ben Sharrock’s “Limbo” took me by surprise. What I expected to be an inaccessible absurdist comedy, turned out to be a heartfelt and meditative exploration of the awkwardness and agony of the asylum application process. While at times genuinely funny, its heart is rooted in a compelling lead with an emotional story and stellar cinematography. Starring Amir El-Masry as Omar, a Syrian oud player who has just arrived on an island in Scotland to await an answer on his asylum application, the audience is introduced to a life of waiting and anticipation. He meets three other men on the unnamed island, all also awaiting decisions on their applications. Omar’s story is told through simple depictions of life in anticipation and compelling moments of revelation and clarity. Sharrock’s simple yet effective direction tells an emotionally complex story while maintaining the meandering pace and ambient atmosphere.
“Limbo” perfectly lives up to its name. With sparse dialogue and lingering shots of scenery, time seems to stand still throughout the majority of its 103-minute running time, much like how the characters’ lives are suspended as they await news of their fate. The colour scheme is completely washed in cool tones, keeping in line with the minimalistic style the film follows. Everything feels completely neutral; the characters do not experience intense emotions for most of the story, they are simply waiting, waiting, waiting. And we, the audience, can only watch and wait with them. However, it does not feel slow in the slightest. In fact, the minimal action and moments of dead-pan comedy (see the first minute of the film available here, for example) are perfectly timed and consistently entertaining. It’s quite rare to see surreal humour executed so subtly and so naturally; these moments are done with no more fanfare than the rest of the film, making it all seem effortlessly cohesive. It all feels like a dream, not necessarily a good or a bad one, but one that is somewhat detached from reality. The unusual 4:3 aspect ratio certainly exacerbates this effect, as it causes the viewers’ vision to be narrow, tunnel-visioned, and utterly mesmerised.
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While the shots of the barren Scottish landscape are beautiful, nowhere does Nick Cooke’s cinematography shine as much as when the characters are vulnerable. The lingering close-ups of Omar whenever he speaks to his parents, who have fled to Istanbul, on the phone stand out particularly as moments of artful simplicity. El-Masry’s performance is understated and complex throughout the whole film and Sharrock’s direction utilises his talent to the maximum. His quiet gentility is perfectly complimented by Vikash Bhai as Farhad, an eccentric Freddie Mercury fan from Afghanistan. He has been awaiting approval of his asylum status for over three years. Farhad appears content in limbo, even offering to be Omar’s manager when he sees his oud and realises that Omar never plays it. Farhad’s relentless optimism provides the majority of the comedy in “Limbo” and this makes him a very memorable character, but it is the interactions between him and Omar that stand out more in their charming dynamics and compelling emotional complexity.
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Throughout “Limbo”, Omar is told repeatedly by various family members that “a musician who doesn’t play music is dead”. Indeed, for a lot of this film, and much like the barren landscape that acts as a background, it feels like some sort of afterlife. With the repetition of the daily routines, the recurring arguments and subjects of conversation, the world we are shown is static and unchanging. While there is an increase in tension and a change in mood in the second half of the film, it is done only through dialogue; the meditative cinematography, the subtle score, and pacing largely stay the same. The heightened emotions feel less like tension and more like something unravelling as we delve deeper into Omar’s story and particularly his troubled relationship with his brother, who stayed behind in Syria to fight. Therefore, the change in tone does not feel jarring at all but rather, expected and natural.
“Limbo” is an exploration of what it feels like to live in extended isolation and uncertainty. While not much actually happens, the compelling direction and ingenious acting carry the viewer through the running time effortlessly. It is a tender depiction of a torturous experience, one far too many people are forced to endure in the present day. Sharrock perfectly blends emotional intensity with cathartic humour, leading the viewer through a world that feels surreal yet vivid and natural.