Amin sheds light on rare faces in cinema, those of foreign workers, torn between their history “back home” and a daily life to build in France. He does so without resorting to miserabilism, through hard-working scenes of construction workers and the coexistence of different ethnicities and communities in the hostels of Saint-Denis or the bars on the outskirts…
This social drama portrays the tough daily life of Amin, a Senegalese family man, torn between his life with his loved ones in his home country and the need to work in a foreign country to provide for his wife and children.
Philippe Faucon casts a thoughtful gaze, at the studious pace of his narrative where dialogues are rare, precise, and precious, some images are worth a thousand words, on the social and emotional bonds that are so complicated to form in a context of acculturation, all without falling into melodrama.
A glowing tale of humanity, brought to life by the performances of Moustapha Mbengue and Emmanuelle Devos, who play the characters of Amin, who moves us with his restraint, and Gabrielle, a generous nurse who tries, with varying success, to forget her loneliness in a romance between Amin and Gabrielle, explored in a modest yet touching way.
Director Philippe Faucon had already charmed audiences in 2016 with his film Fatima, which won three César awards, including Best Film.
