This is a slow moving and original film - and you have to be patient with it. It does have a culmination, and you begin to sense what has happened to our main actor about mid-way through the film. You can start to feel the anguish and the reticence of our protagonist. Something has occurred to entirely disrupt and shatter her life. The young American tour guide she encounters is initially oblivious to all of this - but there begins to be a revelation. There is a juxtaposition between the idyllic Greek scenery and coast-line with the tormented world that our protagonist has escaped. This is the great strength of the film - this difference of two separate but colliding worlds that are not so far apart.

Why is it lacking? The pace. This movie is sloooooow. No words are spoken for the first ten minutes. Little is said in the whole movie until the ending is revealed. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad film by any stretch of anyone's imagination, it's just that it is slow at the start, takes its tome to reveal its real meaning. It is well made, the direction tries to tell a story by showing rather than telling. The acting is a little bereft of convincing emotion. There are more issues to do with the plot. When is this film set? The Liberian civil war was 20 years ago. How did the fisherman break his arm and leg? Where did she get all of her money?

An incredible sustain African refugee story what a beautiful acting by Cynthia Erivo, the way she express her grieve and emotion made me fall in love with the story, every refugee has it own deep stories which many would never imagine . I just wish we have a little bit of her happiest moment in the film she been through alot Her revealing the weight of her devastating past make me sob and at the same time feel happy for her, This is one of the best movie I have watch this year Alia Shawkat deliver her role perfectly well also making her the darling of this film I am looking forward into reading the book.

Be prepared to cry seeing this! If you feel you are not in the mood to get all the emotions on earth seeing this, then perhaps you are not ready to see this, YET! This movie is about trauma of all sorts. A trauma that won't leave you and is following you everywhere you go. This is a very emotional and heavy movie. Heavy in the sense that it will make you as a viewer reflect and go deep into your own emotions. The movie is about a girl who comes from a rich background, she was born in Liberia in West Africa. She moved to the UK, then later went back to Liberia on vacation. While being in Liberia visiting her family some conflicts happened in the city. Horrible things happened while she was there. The situation forced her to flee to Greece. In Greece she became homeless. We will see her struggles and her flashbacks of why she had to flee her country etc. Even if we get to follow the struggles of this young woman, this will remind us of the daily struggles of all the millions of people who are refugees around the world or are homeless. The trauma that so many carry with them. It is very difficult to see this movie because it reminds you all the time that there are less fortunate people everywhere. You feel hopeless seeing this movie because you know this is a real-life situation of millions around the world. Millions of people struggle and come from horrible backgrounds, and they flee their countries but the trauma will never leave them. I feel Cynthia Erivo was born to play this role, she was perfect in this role. Well done to Cynthia for giving a voice to this role. This movie was fantastic in a way that it showed you the reality of millions of people around the world. Sometimes you forget these kinds of struggles exist for some people. Seeing this makes you appreciate your own life even more. I wouldn't be surprised if this was based on a real story. Because I feel what you will see is the daily life and struggles of millions around the world. 100% you have to see this!

I really wanted to like this movie but it just under delivered. The main character just wasn't able to fill the shoes she was given. Very stoic, bland and emotionless. Given the character's rich background, it's very hard to believe how she turned out in Greece! It's like she lost all her senses after the war. Do you know how many Liberians would die for the chance to flee into Greece and start a new life during that time, instead what do we see, a frightened little girl, running away from everybody and stealing food from restaurants. What happened to her life in the UK? She couldn't get to the UK Embassy, tell them what happened and fly home? Why was she running from the police? Worst case scenario, she's arrested and she's given a refugee status. So what's the point of sleeping in a cave? Totally ridiculous premise.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with this story. It's clear that Cynthia Erivo has put her heart and soul into it, but the story just has too many holes in it for me. We first meet her "Jacqueline" character as she wanders the streets of a small greek island town pinching the sugar sachets. Quickly, we discover that she has barely more than the clothes she stands up in, sleeps on a blanket in a sheltered cave and gets about blagging trips on tourist buses. Via flashbacks we are told of her privileged background in her native Liberia and of a love affair with a British woman (Honor Swinton Byrne) in London, and what's clear is that neither idyll seems destined to endure. The former, indeed, is played out across the course of the film in a rather brutally predicable fashion. Fortunately, she encounters tour guide "Callie" (Alia Shawkat) who's getting a bit fed up with the day-in day-out routine with her elderly visitors who just want to say they've "done" the place. Gradually the two start to bond and maybe there's a little light at the end of the tunnel for "Jacqueline"? Both women deliver well enough here, but there are just too many elements missing or under-developed. How did she get here for a start? Too much of her trauma has to be assumed or guessed at and not that I wanted graphic scenes, I did want to know a little more about just what made "Jacqueline" tick. The production is all adequate, and for a while the repetitive photography serves well to illustrate the dead-end nature of her existence, but I just think this missed an opportunity to develop the story of "Jacqueline" a bit more comprehensively.

Incredible movie with amazing acting and casting. As the story begins to unfold, I was captivated. Extremely moving and inspiring, if you give it time and try understand the complexity of what the main character is going though, thinking, feeling and has been through in her life. This is by far my favourite movie this year, beats all high budget and hollywood types. Reminds me of "City of God" movie which resonates with me to this day It is brutally honest, but in an empowering way; we all have struggles, but this story is eye opening and most certainly made me thankful for the little I have but empathetic to those who have less. Inspired me to keep fighting and gave me hope for humanity. Kindness and compassion is out there, lives can be changed and trauma overcome. ~ Thank you.

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