London River (2011)
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 31
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 3
London River is a showcase of dynamite acting that more than overcomes its politically blunt story.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 1
London River is a showcase of dynamite acting that more than overcomes its politically blunt story.
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Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 9,909
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Movie Info
London 2005--It's the story of Ousmane and Mrs Sommers, both humble people living ordinary lives, he in France, she in the Channel Islands. He has a son - she has a daughter - they both are students in London. On July 7th 2005, without any news of their dear children, they decide to start a journey together in search of the two teenagers. And although they come from different religious backgrounds - Ousmane is Muslim and Mrs Sommers' Christian - they will share the same hope in finding their
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Cast
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Brenda Blethyn
Elisabeth Sommers -
Sotigui Kouyaté
Ousmane -
Roschdy Zem
Butcher -
Sami Bouajila
Imam -
Bernard Blancan
Logger -
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London River Trailer & Photos
All Critics (32) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (3) | DVD (2)
The film is a matter of Brenda Blethyn's performance vs. Sotigui Kouyate's presence.
Top CriticIt would be nice to say that Bouchareb, who also wrote and directed "Days of Glory" and "Outside the Law," succeeds. He does not entirely. But he doesn't fail, either.
Blethyn and Kouyaté inhabit and expand the film's earnestly instructive intentions, leaving us with a deeply-felt experience rather than a naively-sketched lesson.
"London River'' features on-target acting by its two leads, but they receive scant support from the wobbly plot.
Demonstrates how great acting can infuse a banal, politically correct drama with dollops of emotional truth.
There's such a graceful sense of restraint in how this real-life tragedy is treated, one that filters any potential for ripped-from-yesterday's-headlines sensationalism through a respectful requiem of loss and grief.
Though the arc of the story is fairly predictable, Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyate bring humanity to their roles.
There isn't a whole lot of nuance in writer-director Rachid Bouchareb's unapologetically political story. But Blethyn's performance ultimately draws viewers in.
Powerful. Director Rachid Bouchareb draws excellent, haunting performances from Blethyn and Kouyate. Ultimately moving and cautionary, "London River" shouldn't be missed.
Not surprisingly, the choice of the actress who played lead female character in Mike Leigh's "Secrets and Lies" betrays an affinity for Leigh in more than just the casting--and there's nothing wrong with that.
[T]wo strangers surprisingly find that horror makes the globalization of terror very personal [with] Blethyn's convincing performance [as] a desperate mother.
An engaging morality play about the quest of an English woman and an African Muslim to find their children after the 2005 terrorist attack in London.
Bouchareb's greatest accomplishment is successfully tackling class, grief and Islamophobia.
Although the film occasionally cuts away to contextualized clips from news reports, it keeps its focus small-scale, filtering the world historical through the intimately personal.
The film's message about these worried individuals and the larger family of all humanity is a bit obvious at times, but the performances keep you watching.
Un retrato humano, sobrio y sensible, que reflexiona sobre los prejuicios y la tolerancia racial, cultural y religiosa en el contexto de los atentados terroristas de Londres. Estupenda labor de sus dos protagonistas.
Audience Reviews for London River
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Elisabeth Sommers: Where's my daughter?
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- Elisabeth Sommers: She has been converted!
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December 8, 2011:
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