Trauma, old age and a taxi.

This could be the tagline for this interesting, intimate piece about belonging and our place in the world. Whether you are in a country ‘illegally’ or living in your own country as an elderly person whom society sees as an inconvenience. Neither feel wanted.

Ali is an undocumented man who is using another man’s taxi license to earn a little money to survive and Esther is an old woman who doesn’t know where she is going and doesn’t recognise the world anymore. The film takes place on a taxi journey where they both learn about each other in a world that is filled with surveillance cameras, constantly watching and judging.

Ali Al Jenabi as Ali

This low-budget film is directed by Madeleine Blackwell. Her background is in acting having studied at Australia’s National Institute of Drama (NIDA) and acted professionally before moving on to directing and being involved in community work. It’s clear watching this film that she cares and wants to use her creativity to make a change or at least shine a light on problematic subjects. This is ultimately a human story about two people from very different places and seeks to find the commonality between us all.
After all, we are all together and apart at all times.
A part of the whole.

Ali is played by Ali Al Jenabi, who in real life is an asylum seeker who fled Iraq 20 years ago at the height of the war and is the subject of an award-winning book called The People Smuggler ‘The True Story of Ali Al Jenabi, the Oskar Schindler of Asia’ by Robin de Crespigny’.
Here, he brings warmth, charisma and compassion to the character of Ali, who is frustrated where he has ended up but never gives up hope for a better world.

Imelda Bourke as Esther

Esther is played by Imelda Bourke, who IRL is the mother of the director and is a singer who has performed on radio, television and stage for over 50 years and this is her first feature film role.
Blackwell wanted to use non-actors to bring an element of realism and non-performance to the film. This works at times and not so much at others but is worthy of a hat-tip.

Although there was a script for the film, Madeleine wanted to keep it loose and use it as a blueprint for the two actors to improvise and find moments together and there are some lovely moments in the short running time of 81 minutes.

Imelda Bourke and Ali Al Jenabi

The music by Peter Knight, Mohammad Ameen Marrdan, Kate Reid, Jerry Wesley-Smith and Jem Savage sits well with the images on screen and acts as a fitting companion to the film.

We are shown surveillance cameras and the footage they see, some of which came from WikiLeaks including audio of American soldiers murdering Iraqi citizens and there is a thank you during the credits to Wikileaks and Julian Assange. There is some great drone cinematography by Mark Blackwell of the unnamed city that the film takes place in and intercut throughout the film and uses many overhead shots denoting perspective and has a dehumanising quality that renders people as ants. There are also shots of an unnamed, destroyed city which adds tension to the tale, as does the editing by Raphael Rivera which has dynamism, rhythm and urgency.

Big brother is watching YOU

Director, Madeleine Blackwell has said about the making of the film:
“Witnessing cruelty and dehumanisation becoming normalised in the world around me compelled me to write a screenplay that would redeem the sense of hope, understanding and resistance….Damage cannot be undone; the invasion of Iraq cannot be undone. The film is about memory and how fragile it is. Damage is permanent so when we lie about the need to go to war, when we condone the militarisation of the entire world we are setting fire to the future.”

In cinemas November 9th in Australia.

81 mins.