Aisha

Aisha

11/6/2022 1h 34m 6.1/10

Overview

Aisha lives at a centre for asylum-seekers in Ireland in a state of ongoing uncertainty. Having fled Nigeria after a violent gang murdered members of her family, she is desperately trying to find some degree of permanency, where she and her mother can be reunited and live without fear. As she navigates the complex legal system to seek settlement in Ireland, she sparks an unlikely friendship with Conor, a new guard at the centre. A former prisoner, Conor’s life experience and calming presence resonate with Aisha, allowing for a tentative romance to begin. But the bond between the pair comes under strain as the threat of deportation looms ever larger.

Director

Frank Berry

Top Billed Cast

Josh O'Connor

Josh O'Connor

Conor Healy

Letitia Wright

Letitia Wright

Aisha Osagie

Stuart Graham

Stuart Graham

Francis Manning

Lorcan Cranitch

Lorcan Cranitch

Peter Flood

Denis Conway

Denis Conway

Brendan Close

Ian Toner

Liam Cantwell

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

12/3/2022

6/10

"Aisha" (Letitia Wright) has been seeking asylum in Ireland for some while when she encounters and builds a friendship with the security guard at her hostel. He, "Conor" (John O'Connor) has a bit of baggage of his own, and the two find a certain comfort in supporting each other as she is moved to a rural caravan park where she must continue her quest for residency. There's no doubt that both Wright and O'Connor deliver decent efforts here, but somehow the underlying story left me rather underwhelmed. Why Ireland? Is it just the most porous part of the EU? There is little context given as to that choice, and so when her struggles against the bureaucracy become more difficult, I felt that whilst I empathised with her predicament, I couldn't quite see why this was an Irish problem? The presentation of her as an asylum seeker is largely predicated on the skills of Wright as an engaging actor, rather than of any depth to her characterisation that could enable a neutral to make the judgements the film is clearly steering us to make. It all has a certain degree of entitlement to it, and the writer and director needed to work much harder to present the audience with a legitimacy to the story, not just to rely on an assumption that the innate kindness and sympathy we ought to feel would be forthcoming. This needed much more development and balance - those doing immigration management jobs portrayed here are usually shown as uncaring and unfeeling in an almost lazy fashion - and that compromises the whole integrity of the story. The complexities of this scenario are over-simplified here, and I think an opportunity to raise awareness of this - on both sides - has been largely missed.

Similar Movies

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

7.2

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2007

Splendor in the Grass

7.5

Splendor in the Grass

1961

The Ruling Class

6.5

The Ruling Class

1972

King of Hearts

6.9

King of Hearts

1966

The White Demon

0.0

The White Demon

1932

Killer by Nature

3.3

Killer by Nature

2010

Veronika Decides to Die

5.9

Veronika Decides to Die

2009

Delinquent Schoolgirls

4.7

Delinquent Schoolgirls

1975

The Judge and the Assassin

6.9

The Judge and the Assassin

1976

Bell from Hell

5.6

Bell from Hell

1974

The Winter of the Anjanas

4.6

The Winter of the Anjanas

2000