"There's a turnaround in the climax of this noctambulist Paris immigrant drama that suddenly charges the film's seemingly neutral title with meaning. Food courier protagonist, Souleymane, is hopefully in the process of altering his destiny, and this key scene is carried by fantastic acting from Abou Sangare: trembling violently as a lifetime's tension and struggle, as well as the daily grind of an app wage slave, comes pouring out."
"Souleymane is a kind of every-immigrant, clinging on at the margins of the French capital. Hailing from Guinea, he sublets the delivery app account of Cameroonian Emmanuel (Emmanuel Yovanie) in order to work. Under constant pressure to meet food delivery targets, he needs money in order to pay fellow Guinean Barry (Alpha Oumar Sow), who is coaching him how to pass his asylum interview the day after next."
"Riding shotgun with Souleymane as he crosses the Parisian boulevards, the film features some of the hairiest cycling scenes since Buster Keaton. Director Boris Lojkine shoots France's ever-shifting capital with hazy impressionistic beauty, occasionally breaking out of shallow focus with a sobering crystalline composition to situate his protagonist in this capitalist warren. But Souleymane is the constant focal point and in a precarious position not just traffic-wise, but also economically and emotionally."
Souleymane, a Guinean food courier in Paris, sublets a delivery-app account to work while struggling under relentless targets and economic precarity. He owes money to fellow Guinean Barry, who coaches him on a political repression story to pass an imminent asylum interview. Constant app pressures and micro-humiliations from restaurateurs and call centres steadily erode his composure and identity. Director Boris Lojkine captures Paris in hazy, impressionistic frames that occasionally sharpen into crystalline compositions to situate Souleymane within a capitalist warren. Intense cycling sequences convey urban danger and exhaustion. Abou Sangare’s performance culminates in a visceral breakdown as accumulated tension and daily grind pour out.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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