Frank Berry’s Aisha is a heartbreaking account of life changes and the people we meet along the way. Led by Black Panther’s Letitia Wright as the titular character, the film centers around a Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland. Also accompanied by Challengers‘ Josh O’Connor along the way, what could’ve been too melodramatic and dark instead feels like an honest look into what immigration indeed looks like.
Some of us have experienced it firsthand, and others have heard the stories their entire lives from their parents. Immigrating and seeking asylum is a heartbreaking, profoundly tiring life change that can make or break a person. Through Aisha, we get both the mundane shifts and the grueling processes of interviews followed by saddening outcomes. The narrative isn’t a happy one, yet it isn’t too sad either, but it’s necessary. Simultaneously, it’s not the kind of film that will change lives or set a new course on how people view asylum seekers because the world is still too cruel for that, yet it’s still the kind of film that matters.
Frank Berry’s Aisha is a poignant lens into the difficulties of finding a job, working through adversaries, and coping with the inevitable loneliness of separating from loved ones. Much of the film succeeds in large part because of Wright’s performances and how she layers the character’s grief and heartaches. We knew that Wright was a gifted actress, but seeing her separated from the Marvel Cinematic Universe proves it. And O’Connor is a tender force of warmth here, providing viewers with the necessary care to know that someone’s looking for Aisha. As horrific as things tend to be with her, she has someone beside her who’s the type of friend everyone needs away from home.
The performances propel and showcase the changes in Aisha as transparently as the day-to-day differences in her living situation. We only get glimpses here and there with the film’s relatively short runtime, yet it doesn’t feel like something is missing, either. It feels like an old family tape, recorded to exhibit what things were like, with every frame showing enough for us to understand the weight of how much the characters (and people who’ve been in her shoes) carry.
The film ends rather abruptly, and the pacing could likely frustrate some viewers, but at the end of the day, it’s painting an authentic account of what it’s like to seek asylum. Immigration can be tedious, deeply frustrating at times, and there is no quick fix to any of the burdens, including emergencies. As the film showcases all this, it does so without ever sugarcoating the reality to make it more palatable. It gives viewers heavy moments of deep pain and longing while at the same time sprinkling moments of levity with two friends sharing a hug in desperate times.
Frank Berry’s Aisha isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s a significant piece of storytelling that might sadly go unnoticed in a sea of too many films. Various points could’ve gone on longer, and we could’ve expanded on some of the character beats, but when you’re aware of this pain, you understand why it isn’t emphasized. Sometimes, short and sweet matters just as much as a lengthy recount. Sometimes, it’s too heavy to sit with it for too long. We feel the passage of time throughout the film, and ultimately, that matters more than anything else.
Frank Berry’s Aisha is now available for digital purchase.
First Featured Image | Official Poster Credit: ©Sky Cinema