I wish we got more I Was a Stranger’s every year. Brandt Andersen, the director, has been helping refugees for over a decade now, and has nothing but a loving heart for the poor and downtrodden in the world. He uses that passion to convince Angel Studios to have him make a film about the refugees and migrants, spreading their stories to as wide an audience as possible. No matter how good his film is, with that backstory, you know you’re watching someone who really cares about the movie he’s making, and with love and empathy for all. Props to you Mr. Andersen!
I Was A Stranger’s through line starts with “The Doctor” Amira (Yasmine Al Massri). We see her in Aleppo Syria, at the end of a 3 day shift smack in the middle of the Syrian Civil War and Arab Spring. The last person she treats is Mustafa’s (Yahya Mahayni) soldier, crazed that she can equally treat soldiers and rebels, whom he sees as the enemy. Amira walks home to see her daughter Rasha (Massa Daoud)…just as a bombing campaign has started up again. Amira and Rasha barely survive, but are forced to go on the run, where they meet Mustafa again, a smuggler (Omar Sy), a poet (Ziad Bakri), and a captain (Constantine Markoulakis) in hopes to find their way into peace and freedom.
For a guy who’s never directed a feature but has been around refugee crises across the planet, Brandt Andersen has a great conceit for I Was A Stranger. Most regular movies have one protagonist we follow through the film to the very end. But the intricacies of migrants traveling from Syria to Europe make that difficult, since our refugees essentially become supporting characters for large chunks of the narrative. Andersen’s experiences thus make him change the protagonist every 20 minutes or so, stringing 5 short films into one greater narrative. Amira and Rasha are our leads at the beginning, fleeing war torn Aleppo. Their segment intersects with Mustafa, but he’s a supporting player in Brandt’s larger story…until he isn’t. Amira/Rasha’s tale ends on a scary cliffhanger, then switches over to Mustafa. Amira is now the supporting player in his part of the tale, and, well, you get the idea. Omar Sy, Ziad Bakri, and Constantine Markoulakis each get their own 20 minute short films, some more interesting than others. Each new character adds new wrinkles to the story, and more and more characters to worry about.
As a filmmaker, it’s a pretty expansive story for just over an hour and a half! Andersen does a decent job building tension and exciting action sequences. You can tell the budget was small, but he makes the most of it. The explosions feel very real and scary. The water scenes are in a studio somewhere but the actors sell the fear he wants to conjure. From refugee camp to boat could be a little more exciting, but Anderson makes sure we never forget these are all humans, who have other humans they care about and care about them. So the big final section of the movie, and especially the montage that follows, is a sad reminder of the consequences of war and that “collateral damage” isn’t some ethereal thing: it’s an Amira, or Rasha, or Mustafa, or any of the other poor person caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I want to see 2 Was 2 Stranger, Angel Studios! This is using your money and studio power for good, shining a light into the darkness of the world and seeing what you find, with an open heart. And Brandt Andersen, thanks for the movie, and all your efforts to help make the world a better place. You made me almost want to donate to the Angel guild. Almost.