Cert TBA
101 mins
BBFC advice: TBA
It is one of the tragedies of modern times that so many people lose their lives while crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe.
Rebecca Cremona's Simshar is a Maltese drama which runs a story about African migrants in parallel with one about fishermen who are desperately eking out a living.
Lotfi Abdelli plays Simon, a poor man who takes his boat out to sea despite knowing that it would not pass health and safety regulations.
Why he takes his son, Theo (Adrian Farrugia), alongside his father (Jimi Busuttil) and African worker (Sékouba Doucouré) on such a perilous trip is a mystery.
In the meantime, Malta and Italy are arguing over who should take migrants who have been picked up by a container ship.
They are the lucky ones because so many others have died but neither of these so-called Christian countries wants to offer help because of the hostile reaction of their citizens.
Simshar is the first Maltese film that I have seen, was hugely popular in its home country and was its entry to the 87th Academy Awards' best foreign language film category but was not nominated.
It is based on a true story which resonated deeply in Malta, explaining why it played to packed houses there.
However, I could not help feeling that Simshar's makers were being over-ambitious in trying to tackle two such meaty subjects.
The Simshar incident is a dramatic true story which would have provided enough drama. Setting it alongside fiction was unnecessary and diluted it.
In my opinion, the tension surrounding Simshar's key moments could have been ratcheted up much more. I didn't know the story and its denouement should have left me more stunned than it did.
Having watched Captain Phillips, All Is Lost, and Their Finest Hours, I couldn't help thinking that a much bigger budget is needed to cover a sea drama.
However, overall I did enjoy Simshar and it whetted my appetite for more Maltese movies.
I watched it on itunes,
Reasons to watch: its shattering true story
Reasons to avoid: it tries too hard to weave two different stories together
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6/10
Star tweet
3 upcoming screenings in the UK. 2 completely sold out however the 3rd one still has seats