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BBC Film
BFI
The Bureau
Not part of a collection.
Set in the port town of Dover in the South-East of England, Mary Hussain suddenly finds herself a widow following the unexpected death of her husband. A day after the burial, she discovers he has a secret just twenty-one miles across the English Channel in Calais.
CinemaSerf
Apr 15, 2022 · via TMDB
Joanna Scanlan is really good here. She is "Mary", a British woman who converted to Islam to better share her life with her husband "Ahmed" whose family hailed from Pakistan. She is desolate when he unexpectedly dies, but discovers he had a secret second family - in France. Determined to meet them, she travels to their home, but her garb leads "Geneviève" (Nathalie Richard) to think she is but their agency cleaning lady. "Mary" plays along as the woman and her teenage son "Solomon" (Farid Ariss) are about to move house. What now becomes clear is that the young man misses his father, has a lively relationship with his mother and well, he too, has his own secret - one that "Mary" discovers as she finds herself drawn into the life of this complicated duo. The production is simple, the story has a straightforward, uncomplicated chronology and the narrative itself is remarkably non-judgmental. It is a story about grief, sure, but it is also one about deceit, about hope and about human nature, anger and affection. All three performances are solid with so much of the delivery from Scanlon based around her expressions, her silences and her mannerisms. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel at the end for all of them. The religiosity of the theme adds richness, but it isn't essential - this could be a story about any family where the unexpected sheds light on the unimaginable, and it is delivered with a classy and poignant style.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Joanna Scanlan
Mary/Fahima
Nathalie Richard
Genevieve
Nasser Memarzia
Ahmed
Talid Ariss
Solomon
Sudha Bhuchar
Farzanna
Elijah Braik
Farooq
Adam Karim
Imran
Narayan David Hecter
Anthony
Jeff Mirza
Ahmed (Voice)
Alexander Dynan
Director of Photography
Aleem Khan
Director
Natascha Wharton
Executive Producer
Aleem Khan
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Before Macintosh: The Apple Lisa
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2026
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Battle your watched movies head-to-head
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Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
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2008 · 14 wins
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1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
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1981 · 11 wins
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