IMDb RATING
7.2/10
5.5K
YOUR RATING
Omar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request.Omar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request.Omar is a promising young musician. Separated from his Syrian family, he is stuck on a remote Scottish island awaiting the fate of his asylum request.
- Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 14 wins & 20 nominations total
Darina Al Joundi
- Omar's Mum
- (voice)
Nayef Rashed
- Omar's Dad
- (voice)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGiven the difficult subject matter of refugees, Ben Sharrock was quite surprised in talking to people who had fled their home countries that many of them took comfort in humor. That's why he deliberately incorporated a lot of humor into his screenplay.
- Crazy creditsNo animals or chickens were harmed in the making of this film.
- ConnectionsFeatures Friends: The One Where Chandler Crosses the Line (1997)
Featured review
Ben Sharrock's film tells the story of a number of refugees on an island off the coast of Scotland, where they await the potential of seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. The film centers first and foremost on Omar, a refugee from Syria with a background as a musician. The film's uniquely bittersweet tone and down-to-earth resonance makes it a generally commendable picture. Sharrock uses dry humor to create "fish-out-of-water" scenarios for the refugee characters, but he does so in a smart and sophisticated way without seeming insensitive to their backgrounds and ambitions. Yet the film is also deeply cognizant of the traumas suffered by refugees, and despite the mix of lighter and darker material, the film's tone is always handled well and never manages to feel uneven. We feel the uncertainty and plight of the major characters, while also remaining endeared and deeply sympathetic to them.
The film's aesthetic is simple yet appealing, with narrow-frame cinematography of the Scottish island that can sometimes look like shots in a Wes Anderson film. As a character, Omar is also extremely well-developed through our understanding of his past as well as his future ambitions. His interpersonal relations are also carefully examined through the film's witty and thought-provoking dialogue, including conversations with other refugees and well-written telephone conversations he has with loved ones. Through the film, Omar genuinely evolves as a person in a way characteristic of coming-of-age films; this dynamic nature of his character was also handled well throughout the narrative. My only real criticism of the film is that it tends to drag in the second act, which simply felt less insightful to me in its character development or social themes than the first and the third act. That said, "Limbo" serves as a touching and clever portrait of the refugee experience that is generally worth seeing. 7.5/10.
The film's aesthetic is simple yet appealing, with narrow-frame cinematography of the Scottish island that can sometimes look like shots in a Wes Anderson film. As a character, Omar is also extremely well-developed through our understanding of his past as well as his future ambitions. His interpersonal relations are also carefully examined through the film's witty and thought-provoking dialogue, including conversations with other refugees and well-written telephone conversations he has with loved ones. Through the film, Omar genuinely evolves as a person in a way characteristic of coming-of-age films; this dynamic nature of his character was also handled well throughout the narrative. My only real criticism of the film is that it tends to drag in the second act, which simply felt less insightful to me in its character development or social themes than the first and the third act. That said, "Limbo" serves as a touching and clever portrait of the refugee experience that is generally worth seeing. 7.5/10.
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- Apr 29, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Лімб
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $224,405
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $84,710
- May 2, 2021
- Gross worldwide
- $921,894
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
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