London River (2009)

Two strangers come to discover the fate of their respective children in the 2005 terrorist attacks on London.

Director:

Rachid Bouchareb

Writers:

Rachid Bouchareb (screenplay), Olivier Lorelle (screenplay)

Stars:

Brenda Blethyn, Sotigui Kouyaté, Sami Bouajila

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brenda Blethyn	...	Elisabeth
Sotigui Kouyaté	...	Ousmane
Sami Bouajila	...	Imam
Roschdy Zem	...	Le Boucher
Francis Magee	...	Inspecteur anglais
Bernard Blancan	...	Ouvrier Forestier
Marc Baylis	...	Edward (as Marc Bayliss)
Gareth Randall	...	Pasteur
Aurélie Eltvedt	...	Guide Chapelle
Mathieu Schiffman	...	Inspecteur anglais
Diveen Henry	...	Policière anglaise
Salah Mohamed-Marich	...	Locataire appartement (as Salah Mohamed-Mariche)
Gurdepak Chaggar	...	Agent de Voyage
Faycal Sekkoum	...	Homme avec portable
Sherekia Barton	...	Coiffeuse

Storyline

After traveling to London to check on their missing children in the wake of the 2005 terror attack on the city, two strangers come to discover their respective children had been living together at the time of the attacks.

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Plot Keywords:

missing son | guernsey | muslim | london bus | loss of loved one | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK France Algeria

Language:

English Arabic French

Release Date:

23 September 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

London River - Destinos Cruzados

Filming Locations:

47 Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,044 (USA) (9 December 2011)

Gross:

$1,314 (USA) (9 December 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

3B Productions, Tessalit Productions, Arte France

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film received a one-week run release in Los Angeles starting 13 November 2009 in order to qualify for the Academy Awards. However it wasn't released in New York until 7 December 2011.

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Goofs

The film is set in July 2005, however an advertisement for the ps3 video game "Haze" (released in May 2008) can be seen on a bus.

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Connections

Featured in Breakfast: Episode dated 6 July 2010 (2010)

User Reviews

Commendable drama

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Elisabeth (Brenda Blethyn) lives a reclusive life on the shores of Guernsey, until her life is torn apart when she learns of the July 7th terror attacks in London, where her daughter lives. Meanwhile, Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) is a black Muslim immigrant from France who has also come to London to look for his son, who he has not seen from birth. When he discovers a photo and some contact details, he gets in touch with Elisabeth and they embark on a soul shattering quest to find their flesh and blood that takes them on a journey of discovery and hope, to the gravest depths of despair.

In the extras section of the DVD, even Blethyn herself comments on doubts she had about accepting the script for London River, on account of how close it was to the attacks and the official enquiry etc. not coming out. But it's good that she pushed her doubts aside, because her performance is one of the more compelling things about this old fashioned feeling drama, tending to headlines from very recently. With the feel of some TV drama from the early 90s, director Rachid Bouchareb has laced his daring and challenging drama with some personal touches here and there that give it a neat feel of it's own. The execution never hits with it's maximum impact, and it's over too quickly to really make it shine. But the subtle, under-stated performances from the two lead actors and it's realistic feel of a tragedy and the cruelty of life unfolding lift it well above average. ***