Worth: $12.00
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Cast:
Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Turkington, Jeremy Allen White, Eddie Tang
Intro:
… missing a real emotional breakthrough moment to make the build-up worthwhile.
Building from her real-life history as an Afghan refugee (a TV journalist in her native land, who had to flee the Taliban), Anaita Wali Zada’s film debut as Donya shows her in an emotional dead zone. A former translator now working in a fortune cookie factory, Donya deals with insomnia, social isolation, and in general is (to borrow a phrase from Lorde) waiting for that green light so she can start to feel again.
There’s a heavy undercurrent of survivor’s guilt to her malaise, but there’s also the more prevalent effect of seeking sanctuary… in a place where just about everyone is looking for an escape. Whether it’s the intrigue of scandalous excitement offered by soap operas, a caffeinated reprieve from the tedium of work in a cup of coffee, or indeed the scattershot faux-wisdom found on a slip of paper in a cookie, a profound longing fills the air.
It’s that very absurdism, of finding happiness in a place where most are looking elsewhere for the same fulfillment, that explains quite a few of the supporting players surrounding Zada. Gregg Turkington (AKA Neil Hamburger) as Zada’s therapist Dr. Anthony both satirises the state of the American mental healthcare system and massages the works of Jack London into the larger story being told. Rising star Jeremy Allen White (whose work in Fingernails hits some similar points about the oddities of modern dating) offers an invitation of warmth into the mood of the film. The brief appearance from The Coup front-man and Sorry To Bother You writer/director Boots Riley lends itself well to the surreality of what’s going on under the surface.
As compelling as its exploration of the tools that so many of us rely on to find happiness, there’s an overwhelming stiffness to the presentation and mood, which ultimately hinders the film’s emotional impact. It aims for an ‘exist in the moment’ feel, similar to Richard Linklater or the more non-genre works of Jim Jarmusch, but leans so far into that direction that it ends up straining its own catharsis and making its lighter moments seem superfluous and diversionary. The exact circumstances of how Donya gets into writing, the matter of ‘The Deer’, and Jennifer McKay’s Lin waking up and choosing violence concerning the coffee supply, are all amusing, but they stick out like neurotic splinters against the starkness of the vibe and the black-and-white camera stock.
Fremont is a slow-burn drama that may prove a bit too slow for some audiences. Its approach to the absurdities of the Western world through the eyes of an immigrant allow for genuine feels at points, and the performances are good (save for Hilda Schmelling’s unfortunate wonk), but when brought all together, it’s missing a real emotional breakthrough moment to make the build-up worthwhile.
