Fremont

Fremont

20/1/2023 1h 32m 6.2/10

Overview

Donya, a lonely Afghan refugee and former translator, spends her twenties drifting through a meager existence in Fremont, California. Shuttling between her job writing fortunes for a fortune cookie factory and sessions with her eccentric therapist, Donya suffers from insomnia and survivor's guilt over those still left behind in Kabul as she desperately searches for love.

Director

Babak Jalali

Top Billed Cast

Jeremy Allen White

Jeremy Allen White

Daniel

Gregg Turkington

Gregg Turkington

Dr. Anthony

Anaita Wali Zada

Anaita Wali Zada

Donya

Hilda Schmelling

Joanna

Siddique Ahmed

Salim

Taban Ibraz

Mina

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

9/22/2023

7/10

This starts off with what has to be slowest, least efficient, example of the industrialisation process that I've ever seen! Those images rather set the scene for what follows as we meet fortune cookie maker "Donya" (a strong performance from Anaita Wali Zada). She was an interpreter for the US military in her native Afghanistan and has arrived in California on a special visa scheme and is awaiting proper settlement. She can't sleep, so manages to inveigle an appointment with the slightly eccentric psychiatrist "Dr. Anthony" (Gregg Turkington) and his rather unorthodox methods manage to illicit some clues (for us) from this rather reticent woman as to what drove and now drives her. Her love life is pretty much non-existent, but a mysterious text message that sends her on a drive might just sort that out - her savvy best pal "Joanna" (Hilda Schmelling) reckons that it might! It's quite hard to describe this film. Precious little actually happens, and the pace is glacial in the extreme - but it still works well as a characterful study of a woman who is having to come to terms with some profound changes to her circumstances and to deal with the loneliness, guilt and frustrations - as well as the opportunities - of her new life in a city where her situation is nothing particularly unusual. It's not a dreary introspective, though. There are moments of dark humour (usually from Turkington) as he uses "White Fang" to a surprisingly innovative effect. The film is an episode in her life, we have some details from her past and we see a glimmer of what might be on her horizon at the conclusion. It's interesting, oddly engaging and well worth a watch. Television will do fine though.

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