A really clever story . Nothing wrong with this movie and no complaints . Though with a bigger budget and better production values the same cast and script could have made a modest blockbuster .
10 Reviews
Worth a watch
am-by23 May 2020
Good story....
banati23 May 2020
this film will leave you speechless...
ngandacinema3 September 2023
It's a shame that we dodged Anchor Baby for many months as the trailer didn't seem engaging🙈
Speechless...It was honestly traumatizing to think that such an incident did happen in real life...
DELICIOUS
---Right from the beginning, we were presented with the definition of the term 'Anchor Baby', this was a welcoming element to introduce us to the story.
Anchor Baby was a story like no other that went beyond immigration problems to tap an extremely cruel phenomenon
-As diasporans, we sympathized with the couple struggling for a better life. We greatly appreciated the quotes at the end that showed the inadequacies of the US immigration system
-This film needed to be told to illustrate the insecurities and restrictions people without 'papers' live with in foreign lands
BLAND
-Anchor Baby would have had a much stronger impact if and only if the acting were refined.
We were waiting for Omoni Oboli to shed abundant tears and pour out her agony, yet, we didn't get much.
John the lawyer and Sam Sarpong appeared like they were still rehearsing the lines in their mind
-Dialogues could have been deeply crafted to send a strong message and address the immigration system in a thought-provoking way
-Anchor Baby concentrated the majority of its scenes on Omoni which became a bit monotonous without a solid parallel narrative
-Was that a baby doll we saw in the car seat after Omoni delivered???😖😖😖😖
-Not seeing shots of Paul for the rest of the movie tremendously limited the realism of the storyline...
Speechless...It was honestly traumatizing to think that such an incident did happen in real life...
DELICIOUS
---Right from the beginning, we were presented with the definition of the term 'Anchor Baby', this was a welcoming element to introduce us to the story.
Anchor Baby was a story like no other that went beyond immigration problems to tap an extremely cruel phenomenon
-As diasporans, we sympathized with the couple struggling for a better life. We greatly appreciated the quotes at the end that showed the inadequacies of the US immigration system
-This film needed to be told to illustrate the insecurities and restrictions people without 'papers' live with in foreign lands
BLAND
-Anchor Baby would have had a much stronger impact if and only if the acting were refined.
We were waiting for Omoni Oboli to shed abundant tears and pour out her agony, yet, we didn't get much.
John the lawyer and Sam Sarpong appeared like they were still rehearsing the lines in their mind
-Dialogues could have been deeply crafted to send a strong message and address the immigration system in a thought-provoking way
-Anchor Baby concentrated the majority of its scenes on Omoni which became a bit monotonous without a solid parallel narrative
-Was that a baby doll we saw in the car seat after Omoni delivered???😖😖😖😖
-Not seeing shots of Paul for the rest of the movie tremendously limited the realism of the storyline...
Wonderful movie
yinkbling5 February 2011
The movie got me confused at first because i thought there was no plot and was leading nowhere but then towards the end the plot got revealed and got really interesting.
The story involves a couple (Paul & Joyce) who are illegal immigrants in the United states hoping for a better life. They got caught by the US immigration service and were ordered to be deported. Joyce realizes she's pregnant and the couple decided to stay at least until the baby is born to secure a US citizenship for the child. Paul got caught and was immediately deported leaving his pregnant wife behind. Joyce avoiding the immigration officers struggles on her own and looks for a place to stay, she meets Susan who offers to help and take her in, Joyce accepts the offer not realizing Susan's hidden motives while facing numerous challenges.
Its one of those movies with a last minute twist, great movie.
The story involves a couple (Paul & Joyce) who are illegal immigrants in the United states hoping for a better life. They got caught by the US immigration service and were ordered to be deported. Joyce realizes she's pregnant and the couple decided to stay at least until the baby is born to secure a US citizenship for the child. Paul got caught and was immediately deported leaving his pregnant wife behind. Joyce avoiding the immigration officers struggles on her own and looks for a place to stay, she meets Susan who offers to help and take her in, Joyce accepts the offer not realizing Susan's hidden motives while facing numerous challenges.
Its one of those movies with a last minute twist, great movie.
Biased and unrealistic
katesimko5 August 2014
I just watched this film on an overseas flight and was shocked by many obvious errors. First, the woman is extremely large at 4 months pregnant (the size a woman is just before labor) and never changes size the entire film. Secondly, the film is supposed to be based in Chicago and it doesn't even attempt to look like that city at all. The nice interior of the illegal immigrant's home is also not realistic at all for the United States - it looks like a suburban home, yet is supposed to be an urban housing block? Lastly, and most importantly, the values portrayed as heroic are an unjust abuse of the US immigration system. The concept of "anchor baby" has already been eradicated in the UK and other first world countries because it is an unfair way for someone to forcefully gain citizenship while others are patiently waiting in line. Overall, I'm disappointed that film festivals gave this film such good ratings. Whatever your political views, this is a poor film with blatant errors.
Great movie
Pokorh26 October 2011
This movie is an amazing independent film. I watched it in UK Odeon cinemas when I was there on vacation in September. Acting was great and the story is amazing with a mind blowing twist at the end. This type of movie opens your eyes to whats going on in our society and the immigration system. The movie started off with showing the two main actors in the movie. One of them is Sam Sarpong. I've seen him in several films in the states but never in a role like this ever. He even had a different accent from his normal way of speaking. The person who stole the whole show is the lead actress Omoni Oboli. She is not a big named actor. I believe she is a Nigerian based actor in Nollywood. She did justice to the role and was very believable. Terry Oliver who played Susan Backley was also exceptional in her role. This is a movie you will have to watch twice to figure out how the writer/director Lonzo Nzekwe pulled off such a great story. I'm looking forward to seeing more work from this promising filmmaker. I' have to admit I'm not a big fan of indie movies, but I'm glad I gave it a chance and watched it. It's a recommended "must watch" for everyone.
Compelling subject matter totally failed in presentation
awvknj9 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The script was so cheesy!! Stilted dialogue and the way the scenes flowed together felt very artificial and forced. I really tried but it got to a point where I just couldn't keep watching it - When the big bad iceman shoots the teenager point-blank -give me a break. I had to turn it off. I'm not blaming the actors here it was totally bad script though compelling subject matter... so whatever the twist was I missed it. Guess I'll have to look it up online just to get the synopsis and satisfy my curiosity I couldn't bear to watch anymore of this - the actors get blamed for bad acting but it's really the script. Filled with caricatures -actors didn't have anything to work with. Shocking that anybody won an award for this film. I'm sure she's a fine actor but not in this film - worse than a B movie - barely a D.. just didn't work for me.
Fantastic Movie Covering Very Real Issues
nollywoodforeverdotcom8 July 2012
Pregnant Joyce Unanga played by Omoni Oboli and her husband Paul Unaga played by Sam Sarpong are illegal immigrants in the United States. Their visas have expired and their time in the USA is up. They were offered voluntary deportation 3 months previously but refused to take it Joyce has 4 months until she gives birth and has agreed with her husband that they will lay under the radar hiding from immigration until the baby is born. This anchor baby will act as a device for the family to gain legal foothold into the United States;. Joyce isn't so keen on the idea but her husband Paul is desperate for their child to be born in the United States and have an American passport so that he/she can be afforded the same opportunities as American born kids.
After a raid at Paul's workplace, where Paul drops his phone after running from immigration officials immigration and are hot on their tails and one morning while Joyce is out on her daily walk they pounce and grab Paul. Joyce has no choice but to evacuate the apartment if she too doesn't want to be caught. She is left alone, homeless and pregnant looking for a place to stay when she comes across a Good Samaritan by the name Susan played by Teri Oliver in a doctor's office. Susan comes in to save the day and offers her her basement to live in until the baby is born. It sounds too good to be true. Is it?
This is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and I would definitely recommend. It was well shot and evenly paced. The drama, tension and suspense was good but could have been picked up a notch, nevertheless I loved the storyline. It was one that raised very real and important issues about illegal immigration and showed us the gritty reality of life as an illegal immigrant and the misfortune that can fall upon you when you have no rights. Anchor baby won the Best film Harlem Intl film festival, Award of Merit L.A Cinema festival of Hollywood. It made the Official selection Africa Intl film festival and official selection Fans of film festival and all with good reason. Grab ya copy
After a raid at Paul's workplace, where Paul drops his phone after running from immigration officials immigration and are hot on their tails and one morning while Joyce is out on her daily walk they pounce and grab Paul. Joyce has no choice but to evacuate the apartment if she too doesn't want to be caught. She is left alone, homeless and pregnant looking for a place to stay when she comes across a Good Samaritan by the name Susan played by Teri Oliver in a doctor's office. Susan comes in to save the day and offers her her basement to live in until the baby is born. It sounds too good to be true. Is it?
This is a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed and I would definitely recommend. It was well shot and evenly paced. The drama, tension and suspense was good but could have been picked up a notch, nevertheless I loved the storyline. It was one that raised very real and important issues about illegal immigration and showed us the gritty reality of life as an illegal immigrant and the misfortune that can fall upon you when you have no rights. Anchor baby won the Best film Harlem Intl film festival, Award of Merit L.A Cinema festival of Hollywood. It made the Official selection Africa Intl film festival and official selection Fans of film festival and all with good reason. Grab ya copy
slow and boring
jacksonmeddows11 May 2022
This movie annoyed me so much. The premise was great and interesting, but the plot just crawled on and on, to no end, and the acting was annoying especially from certain characters/scenes. Susan and John (Susan's lawyer friend) were particularly odd in their acting, like they don't know how "real" people behave.
Except Joyce Unanga, the main character. She did pretty good.
It's disappointing because I would have loved to get a movie on this topic (undocumented immigrants shown in a sympathetic light) where I could be really invested in the characters.
The ending was unexpected for me, so that was good, but it didn't feel necessary, like the twist didn't really do anything for the movie overall. If it had, I would have bumped it up to a 5/10 but no.
Also the whole movie felt like it was made in the early 2000s, from the camera quality, to the awkward cuts between some scenes, to the weird dialogue.
Except Joyce Unanga, the main character. She did pretty good.
It's disappointing because I would have loved to get a movie on this topic (undocumented immigrants shown in a sympathetic light) where I could be really invested in the characters.
The ending was unexpected for me, so that was good, but it didn't feel necessary, like the twist didn't really do anything for the movie overall. If it had, I would have bumped it up to a 5/10 but no.
Also the whole movie felt like it was made in the early 2000s, from the camera quality, to the awkward cuts between some scenes, to the weird dialogue.
Plot
boxeden-4335911 May 2023
A married Nigerian couple, Joyce and Paul Unanga, living illegally in the United States, has been ordered to leave the country by the U. S. immigration. They decide that they will leave, but only after Joyce, who is five months pregnant, delivers her baby in the United States to guarantee automatic U. S. citizenship for their child. Thus, ignoring the deportation order, the couple goes into hiding. When Paul is caught and deported, leaving Joyce to fend for herself, she struggles on her own to survive. Bureaucracy keeps getting in the way of Joyce achieving her goal and just as she is about to give up hope, she meets Susan, a married freelance writer who offers to help in the form of safe, free accommodation until the baby is born. With the help of her newfound friend, Joyce sets out to make the 'American Dream' come true for her unborn child.
See also
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