fstryjak Reviews

Chasing Freedom (2004 TV Movie)

More true to life than some realise

[8/10 · 15 August 2008]

Enough has been said about the quality of the acting in this film so I won't add to that other than to say that it doesn't bother me if an actress portraying a New Yorker under stress doesn't talk very, very very fast - I'd rather be able to understand her lines! I just wanted to say that those who think that the inhumanity of the INS service or the lack of compassion of the officers and judges was overplayed have never been inside an immigration courtroom or had any dealings with the immigration service. In that respect the film was depressingly accurate. It saddens me that in the quest to 'protect' ourselves from those without legitimate requests for asylum, we have to treat everyone so appallingly, with representation that barely passes any reasonable competency test, as if the majority of asylees haven't suffered enough. Asylum seekers have, more often than not, barely escaped from their countries with their lives and the clothes on their back and they get treated like criminals. Some would say that it's shameful.

I'm just sorry that this film didn't make theatres and isn't required viewing for the general public.

The Quickie (2001)

What was everyone else watching?

[8/10 · 9 May 2005]

Once again I am a little confused by the websites 'plot outline' and many of the other comments.

This film seemed to me to be very little about the relationship between mother and son (only one important scene where the mob boss reproached his mother for being a drunk all his life), and more about a great number of other things. Sibling rivalry, the decadence that accompanies a criminal life, how life and money ultimately become of little value, how love can surface in the most unlikely circumstance, etc etc. The 'hitman' who was exceptionally good at the job and the mob boss fell for the exterminator in spite of himself. The irony of his brother 'sussing' what someone was up to and being over-ridden was not lost on him.

I thought it was a well made depiction of a dysfunctional family and its final disintegration. The storyline flowed, there was great attention to detail - a bug exterminator would be looking in all the rooms and a nervous mob member would get itchy about it - and though it wasn't a Hollywood glitz-flick I thought it was all the more authentic because of it. I really enjoyed it.