Philippe Falardeau’s heartfelt account of children fleeing civil war in southern Sudan and arriving as displaced adults in America is raised shoulder high by a cast many of whom have first-hand experience of the tribulations of the so-called “Lost Boys”. The first movement is arguably the strongest, following a rag-tag group of young survivors trekking on foot toward the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, the threat of starvation and soldiery ever at their backs. This is powerful stuff, with affecting cinematography by Ronald Plante to emphasise both the vulnerability and resilience of these orphans, cast adrift amid landscapes of imposing beauty and danger (South Africa doubling for Sudan).
Leap ahead 13 years, and we arrive in America where rather more standard-issue culture-clash dramas ensue as Reese Witherspoon’s employment agent struggles to explain McDonald’s and mobile phones to her fish-out-of-water charges. Strong performances from Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal ensure that the characters of Mamere, Jeremiah and Paul are never reduced to “exotic” victimhood. On the contrary, they draw us into their experience of the wasteful strangeness of the west, ensuring that we see the world through their eyes, looking out rather than in.
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