Fleeing a conflict zone and ending up on a Scottish Island in the
middle of nowhere might seem like out of the frying pan into the fire
but for the refugees in Ben Sharrock’s “Limbo” escaping violence in
their home country means that they can’t be too choosy where they end
up.
That proves the case for Syrian musician Omar (Amir el-Masry). Leaving
his family behind in Syria, waiting for his immigration application to
be reviewed, ends up in a rundown house with a number of other refugees
on a barren and desolate Scottish Island.
Limbo is a moving and funny fish out of water tale as Omar, who has
only arrived on the island, finds that he’s fled violence in Syria only
to end up in the back of beyond where the local population treat him
with suspicion, his first encounter with the locals sees one of them
reminding him not to make bombs and not to blow the place up.
Throw in heart-breaking phone calls from the one call box on the island
to his mother and father who are in Turkey, is father hasn’t much time
for him and believes that he should have stayed in Syria like his
brother and fought for “the cause” and the fact that his one friend,
Farhad (Vakash Bhai) has been waiting on the island for years, then
things don’t look particularly promising for him.
Sharrock makes great use of the Scottish scenery and the lonely
desolation of his location. Throw in a fantastic performance from Amir
el- Masry and Limbo comes highly recommended.
