I Was a Stranger, written and directed by Brandt Andersen in his directorial debut, is a drama that offers a glimpse into the heartbreaking reality of war, where we turn on our own blood, and even the most innocent cannot be protected from its horrors.
When Amaria (Yasmine Al Massri), a Syrian doctor, is forced to flee her home in war-torn Aleppo with her daughter Rasha (Massa Daoud), she makes a desperate decision that pulls four other strangers in with her. The soldier, Mustafa (Yahya Mahayni), is in a constant battle between duty and morals. The smuggler, Marwan (Omar Sy), is trying to earn money to make a better life for himself and his son. The poet, Fathi (Ziad Bakri), is searching for a better place to call home for his children, like Amaria. The captain, Stavros (Constantine Markoulakis), a Greek coast guard, is caught between the obligation of duty and the act of mercy. All five strangers’ paths cross on one night in the Mediterranean when survival is uncertain, showing the truest form of one another.
The story is told through five perspectives: ‘The Doctor’, ‘The Soldier’, ‘The Smuggler’, ‘The Poet’, and ‘The Captain’ in that order, with a framed story that sees Amaria eight years after the events of the film, still reeling from the aftermath. This split perspective is impactful to the storytelling, as it allows the viewer to gain a greater understanding of the effects of war, not just on the citizens but also on those who inflict it. The film doesn’t make you sympathize with any of these characters, even those you can’t help but sympathize with; it does, however, invite you to gain a different perspective on their views, whether good or bad. The characters are self-centered and desperate, but you can still see humanity in each character’s perspective, with the ability to connect with others even in savage situations. This different point-of-view storytelling does have its disadvantages: Andersen makes a point of ending every perspective with a cliffhanger to deepen the impact, but at times it lessens it. If the film allowed the viewer to sit in the devastation it shows for even a moment longer, it could greatly enhance the impact of the message the story is trying to convey.
The performances of Al Massri, Mahayni, and Sy are the biggest standouts. All are able to provide such depth to these characters in the little time the audience spends with them; each offers a trait that defines their individuality. With Al Massri, she is able to convey a palpable strength, in tune with that of a doctor’s, through the screen. Even in the framed story, when her resolve is weakened, Al Massri shows the quiet devastation of grief and the strength it can yield. With Mustafa constantly battling his head and his heart, Mahayni had to convey his emotional turmoil on his face effectively enough for the audience to grasp the weight of his decisions, and he definitely succeeded. When he is faced with the carnage around him, something that he participated in, Mahayni is able to express the anguish of his actions with just his face, something explicitly needed in a film of this weight. Sy’s performance as Marwan is extremely complex, just like it’s individual. He is able to shift from a loving paternal figure to a stone-cold no-nonsense leader in the blink of an eye but does it in a way that each trait can be recognized in the other. He is a selfish character, but through Sy’s portrayal, the audience can understand why he has to be that way.
Rating: 3/5 stars
I Was a Stranger’s split-perspective storytelling, centered on a war-focused situation, offers an immersive experience. It emphasizes the impact of war on all sides, questioning the distinction between duty and mercy while showing humanity at its truest. If Andersen had lingered in those raw moments of humanity, it would have deepened the devastation that sets the tone of the film at the start.
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