User Reviews

In February 2002 in the Shamshatoo Refugee Camp in the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan, there are 53,000 refugees living in sub- human conditions since 1979 with the Soviet Union invasion and 2001 with the USA bombing and invasion of Afghanistan. The family of the Afghan Enayat and his cousin Jamal decides to send them illegally to London to have a better life. They hire coyotes to smuggle the cousins through Iran and Turkey to Italy and finally London hidden inside trucks and containers. However, the long journey locked in a container with other families separates the cousins and on 09 August 2002, Jamal has his asylum application refused in London.

"In This World" is a bleak docu-drama from the great British director Michael Winterbottom. The realistic story of the long and dangerous journey of the cousins Jamal and Enayat from Pakistan to London and to the Other World is simply amazing, with two amateurish actors in the lead roles living the reality of their people. Michael Winterbottom also exposes the sub-human conditions of the refugees after the destruction of their country by the Soviets first and North-Americans later. The claustrophobic scene of the refugees locked inside the small container is so anguishing that made me nervous in my couch at home, Rambo III" is "dedicated to the brave people of Afghanistan", in accordance with the final quote of Sylvester Stallone; but the homage of Michael Winterbottom is much more scathing and sharp. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Neste Mundo" ("In This World")

I don't want to try to explain the events in this film, or create an indepth synopsis. I'm not very good at that, and there are better places to find them (in fact, I think it's better to view it without knowing the plot).

What I do want to explain is how the concept is executed, and the effects it creates on the audience.

Though I said this is a serious film, I don't mean it's a film that can only be understood by the super-intelligent. This film is effective for everyone who cares to read into the situation.

At first, I thought this was a true documentary. The DV handheld camera and documentary feel is there all the way through the film, but at the start there was a quick voice over explaining a few things about the location. Also, bystanders were interacting with the camera.

However, as things progressed it's obvious to anyone that it's not a documentary, but in fact a very crafty piece of filmmaking. The beginning intends to fool you into the idea that this is a true, real life documentary, so as things hot up, you are more engaged. I was pondering this issue through the first fifth of the film, however, this wasn't a bad thing at all.

The settings in the film were breathtaking, so real and brutal. It was, in essence, a road movie. Our protagonists travelled around and stopped off at places, but as it was in documentary style, we seemed that little more part of the quest than you would in other road movies.

This may sound hypocritical, but because of the documentary style, we stay distant from our characters. We don't align with their emotions; instead we are voyeurs to the situation. Rather than feeling things from their point of view, we feel the situations as if we were there WITH them.

The visuals and editing in this film are also very important. In one scene, I was feeling very disoriented, and, almost sick, just like our on-screen characters. This was due to the lighting and editing, not shock or sickening imagery.

I saw this film in the cinema, but I expect many people will only be able to see this on TV or DVD because this isn't running the mainstream cinema circuit. However, unlike most movies, I think this will work well on all mediums because it's not a traditional film as it tries to pass itself off as a documentary. Maybe the scenes that really effected me physically won't work so well viewing them at home because it's unlikely you have the same A/V equipment, however everything else will be fine.

I agree with the previous review that this film is bleak, but despite this, it is very intriguing and you won't be able to look away once you get into it! You shouldn't leave the film feeling bored.

A FILM does not get much more real than this! I give it 8/10.

Michael Winterbottom, I thought, was a director worth watching (I had seen his film "Jude") but I was sorely disappointed with this film that was bestowed with a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film festival--a festival that often picks up fine cinema for its honors. I saw "In this world" at the on-going Dubai international film festival expecting to see top-notch cinema.

Instead of great cinema, I saw a film that flounders in its effort to capture reality. Winterbottom and cinematographer Marcel Zyskind capture young faces and their action creditably (the young sibling who follows his brother as he leaves the refugee camp) at times and then slip up to the most shoddy camera-work soon after (local Pakistanis staring at the camera, shadows of vehicles carrying camera equipment on road sequences). The film attempts to capture fiction in a documentary style. The effort is commendable but the outcome is at best an average effort at highlighting the problem of refugees.

The film begins with statements on the ration provided to refugees. A great beginning with shots of a real refugee camp. Then I was appalled to see shots of women dancers being showered with currency notes and a gruesome sacrifice/killing of an ox--sequences that add no value to the rest of the film.

What is the film trying to state? Refugees are in a bad shape and they need to escape. Is Winterbottom suggesting that those who succeed are heroes and those who do not are tragic figures? Is he trying to make a statement on cultural values across borders?

I feel Winterbottom could have served better purpose if he had retained the elements of documentary and discussed the problems of refugees than dramatize the journey itself. If he wanted to dramatize the journey--what are the shots of the dancing women doing here?

Berlin has made a wrong choice--not that Winterbottom lacks in talent. But this is mixed-up cinema

Eclectic English film-maker Michael Winterbottom has produced his finest work to date with 'In this World', a pseudo-documentary account of the attempted journey of two Afghani refugees to London. This film's outstanding achievement is the sense it conveys that despite the ubiquity of television, mobile phones and the English language, this is still a big, poor and very beautiful world. I can't praise the cinematography highly enough - almost every scene is stunningly composed, especially the nighttime crossing of the mountains (shot without the use of additional lighting), yet none feels contrived. Characterisation is minimal, but the viewer feels emotionally bound to the journey. As a rich westerner, I am used to hopping on a plane and flying wherever I wish, but Winterbottom nonetheless succeeds in making me appreciate the culture shock encountered for his protagonists in travelling merely from one side of Pakistan to another. Their journey, of course, is no sort of holiday.

Winterbottom steers clear of direct politics, but we see (along with great suffering) numerous examples of the small ways in which human beings can be nice to one another - the contrast with the xenophobic hatred of the Daily Mail is unspoken but clear. Who knows if the real-life Jamals of this world find happiness? But the message for us is that we forget our shared humanity at our peril.

This film deserves a wide audience - and we are constantly reminded what or who is in this world, and what that entails. The story line is simple: two Afghan refugees, dispossessed in their land, struggling to survive (on 1 US $ a day, search for new life in a promised land - either the United Kingdom (London) or the USA.

We are all aware of the prejudice meted out to those of middle Eastern descent by the leaders of these 'first world countries'; we are also aware that war and the rampage of war leads to dog-eats-dog scenario.

Without preaching, the director takes us (through an involvement with the young leads, apparently not trained actors) through this world, moving from Afghanistan, to the East (Iran, Pakistan), and landing in Europe (Turkey, Italy, England).

What struck me throughout was the single-mindedness displayed by the younger actors, as they have to cope with a world at once alien and familiar to them.

There are moments of intense kindness by strangers, balanced by the manipulation of others who are motivated by greed and an unempathetic bureaucracy too.

Acting is naturalistic: there are some brilliant cameo shots - and Winterbottom has achieved a Herculean task; the film comes across as a real, hands-on documentary that is unscripted, and where events unfold before one's eyes.

Aided by voice-overs and a montage of black and white images, this has a feel of historic truth, a sense of actuality about it. I was moved by this film, totally.

It is a cry from the director's soul, and (unfortunately) won't reach the people it should. Refreshing, sensitive and an absolute must-see.

It is a magnificently crafted film from a cinematic standpoint, following no formulaic conventions about how to tell a story. It mixes dramatic and documentary techniques to create a moody, unflinching look at the plight of refugees of war. By introducing techniques of voice-over fact presentations and title overlays, it sets up an expectation that we are about to watch a documentary, and that what we are about to see is being filmed as it happens. Yet clearly, it must be a fiction, because it's too sharp, clean, and choreographed to be anything but staged. It maintains a curiously detached and distanced voice, and even the characters themselves seem rather remote from their own lives. They have a sad, worn-down air, and seem to trudge ahead with neither hope nor fear even in the most horrific circumstances. Their detachment from their own lives distances the viewer from them as well, unfortunately.

Michael Winterbottom's In This World is a heart-breaking portrayal of Afghan refugees. The film begins in a refugee camp of Pakistan. Two siblings - Jamal and Enayat plan to reach London via illegal land journey. Film's realistic treatment does justice to the story. Shows the dark truth of this different part of the world. Jamal and his cousin's journey is very terrifying filled with tense moments and lots of restrictions. Movie's documentary-like structure seems little bit uncomfortable in the beginning but once we get familiar with the characters and scenario, it's a great ride. However, the focus is kept on various little details and difficulties encountered by its protagonists instead of going for the deep character-building. Anyway, it's a solid and realistic feature made on a serious issue. Worth checking out.

Motivated by a news story about 58 Chinese immigrants found suffocated in a container at Dover, In This World by Michael Winterbottom is a passionate tribute to the nearly one million refugees a year who are willing to take enormous risks to seek a better life. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, the film follows two boys, Jamal, 16 (Jamal Udin Torabi) and his older cousin Enayat (Enayatullah) on a perilous overland journey from an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan to seek economic security in the West. Shot in documentary style with a digital camera strapped to the back of cinematographer Marcel Zyskind, the film is fictional but is drawn from a true story and mirrors the desperate conditions of untold thousands whose faces we never see.

The boys are Pashtun who have grown up at the Shamshatoo refugee camp in Pakistan along with 53,000 other Afghanis, victims of the Russian-Afghan War or the American war against the Taliban. The politics of the refugees are not discussed and the film is basically a human story that crosses political and religious lines. Since Jamal speaks some English, Enayat's family asks him to go with him to London where he can apply for asylum as a refugee. From Peshawar, Jamal and Enayat travel by bus to Quetta and over the Iranian border to Taftan and by bus to Tehran. They do not have proper identification and must contend along the way with border guards, police, thieves, smugglers, and numerous changes in currency and language.

The boys bribe a customs officer with a Walkman but when ordered off a bus to Tehran, they meet a group of Kurds who offer them the hand of friendship. There is not much dialogue and the boys mostly improvise the funny stories and small talk as they endure days and weeks of waiting for their next ride. In a sequence of great beauty shot at nighttime using infrared photography, the Kurds help the two boys cross the icy mountains to Turkey, ducking the gunfire of armed soldiers at the Turkish border. Together with an Iranian and his wife and baby, they are then brutally forced to travel inside a shipping container for a 40-hour voyage from Turkey to Italy, a journey where only the strong survive.

In This World is not just a road movie but a human document of urgency and commitment that allows us to experience the humanity of the people some contemptuously refer to as "economic migrants" or "asylum seekers". While it is not a political statement, it is clearly as a slap at the recent hardening of European immigration policies. On a broader scale, however, the film can be seen as an apt metaphor for life. It tells us that the journey is exhilarating but fraught with unimagined obstacles at every turn, yet there are friends who are there for us along the way and, when we feel overwhelmed and hopeless, there is an aching beauty that fortifies us with the strength to keep going.

This is a classic example of a film I admire more than enjoy. It's definitely got some good intentions, as its one and only aim is to show a realistic depiction of what refugees typically have to go through, and considering that it would obviously not be recommended to actually film in such conditions, I think that the documentary style works really well and makes it feel so much more real than it would have otherwise.

Unfortunately, that's kind of all it does. I didn't care much for the characters beyond any basic sympathy for being in this situation, the acting wasn't anything amazing, and the story goes in absolutely no directions that are the least bit unexpected.

It's worth a watch if you don't know what the typical refugee experience is, but other than that I can't really see it having much of an appeal.

Those of us who live in so-called "western" and "civilized" cities always enjoy imagining the nostalgia of getting away from it all, owning a small hut in the mountains, living off of nature's gifts: veggies from the back yard, and meat from the farmhouse. Well, then there are those who live in those places that seem oh so nostalgic to us, and can't wait to get away from it all. They face the realities of rural life that so many of us day-dreamers tend not to include in our imaginings. And it also becomes hard for us to comprehend what is it about our stress-filled lives that these people want, that they would put their lives in danger and risk everything for entering another country and be part of that life. Then we realize the ignorant and arrogant lives we've been living: The luxury of taking survival for granted.

Films like "In this world" show us the journey taken in search for the promised lands. And we realize that the struggle for survival is common in every part of the world; it simply takes a different shape or form. The refugee's life becomes a story of adaption, rather than reaching a resolution. The idea of getting away from it all turns into realizing the lack of the void: that the frame of mind is what dictates what we want to get away from. Because it is so easy to find something to want to get away from, anywhere we live. Winterbottom's film captures these issues in almost documented reality of two brothers in search for the promised lands. It's almost as obvious of a reality right infront of us, as real and un-noticed as the image of the main titles super-imposed on a paint-peeling wall.

We see that we all are a refugee, running away from something, only to realize that we end up chasing a dream we will be running away from again later.

At the conclusion, I sat stunned near tears. I am often impressed with films I am viewing but I rarely am left speechless. This film is one of those moments when film history is being written. I assumed all along that this was the telling of a true story because of its documentary style. But it is merely representative of the many such stories that happen every day in this cruel exploitative business of people smuggling.

This film makes it's point without being ponderous or preachy. I felt I was there with these beautiful unfortunate young men on the horrendous journey to escape their life of poverty in a refugee camp. This film maker should be given some type of international award for his courage in making this film about this subject matter. I never felt more appreciative of my apartment than I did last night when I got home.

Highly Recommended. 10 points.

"In This World" is yet another exceptional film from Michael Winterbottom, who seems to be one of the best directors from the UK these days. I really liked his film before this "24 Hour Party People" and once again he has done a masterful job of combining elements of documentary into a feature films. From the outset, it is pointed out that lots more 'muhla' went into bombing Afghanistan than providing refugees with any assistance. This was filmed in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and parts of Western Europe. One of the more touching moments comes when the lead characters meet up with an Iranian (I presume ethnic Kurds) family as they enter Southeast Turkey from Iran. A very touching film. It is certainly more vivid an disturbing than most road movies, whether you are talking about "Stagecoach" or even "Thelma and Louise"- this is gripping stuff indeed, and a good companion to the recent Afghan film "Osama."

In This World charts the journey of two Afghan refugee brothers who leave their camp in Peshawar, Pakistan to seek a new life in London. The epic voyage of Jemal and Emayat is an archetypal refugee journey from East to West; in a film lasting just 90 minutes, director Michael Winterbottom weaves together a taut and powerful narrative, encapsulating the encounters and journeys-within-journeys that characterise refugee lives. Relatives of the two brothers give all they can to send them on their way; 'agents' of migration variously help and hinder their journey; policemen fleece them at the border crossings. From Peshawar to Sangatte (where would-be migrants to Britain crowd the French coast), the coherent and transfixing narrative brings together the names and places associated with countless refugee journeys.

On Jemal and Enayat's journey there are so many glimpses of the world around – some enlightening, others mysterious – that you could watch this film again and again and be fascinated by new details each time. The early stages of the journey reveal the stunning emptiness of Central Asian landscapes, with vast plains stretching out towards impossibly far-off mountains. The journey across Asia reveals some very different – and occasionally alarming – road usage, whilst the briefest of pauses in rural Iran captures a little of the traditions involved in welcoming and sending-off guests. Among the most striking asides in this film for me is the footage of a cow being slaughtered by the halal method; just a few eye-opening moments are afforded to this episode.

The film is, for all these fascinating glimpses, tightly woven around the story of Jemal and Enayat. The portrayal of their difficulties and sufferings is devastatingly powerful; the jerky, panic-stricken footage at the Turkish border and the dark and claustrophobic nightmare of the shipping container remain long and vivid in the memory. Although Winterbottom rarely lets the pace of the film slacken – indeed, he hardly has the option in such a wide-ranging and ambitious undertaking – snatches of conversation, bickering and camaraderie develop the two brothers' characters: they feel like real people. Jemal's humorous stories are particularly important in this regard, and, for me, the parodying of creation myths in these tales also suggests a much-warranted poking of fun at Western audiences, who often take a condescending interest in 'quaint' traditions.

Through the use of a voice-over in the early stages of the film and recurring resort to a map to help chart the brothers' journey, Winterbottom adds overtly documentary-style elements to his film. These elements seem to me to jar with the rest of the film; there is no real need to add them to an otherwise immersive and realistic picture. On the other hand, whilst the musical score by Dario Marianelli seems jarring to begin with, it soon becomes an essential part of the film: a theme to match an exhaustingly emotional experience as we watch the migrants on their journey.

When I saw this movie 20 years ago, I was blown away. The way the movie is shot, to make it look like a real time documentary, made the already harrowing story even more gripping. I'm sure much of this comes from the fact that the main characters are played by non-actors telling a story familiar to themselves and their community. It's one of the most gut-wrenching movies I've ever watched. Twenty years later, the fact that this stands out amongst the many movies I've seen as a cinephile is testament to its strength and timeless nature. It's not a mindless movie, as one has to be in the right frame of mind to get through it, but once viewed, it sticks with you.

It's really impossible to describe how beautiful this film is.

I've been a fan of Michael Winterbotom since I saw Jude. I still remember how much some of his movies like Jude or I want you had affected me, but this time the great film-maker from England has exceeded my expectations. At times where racism is everywhere, Winterbottom dares to go to "other side" and make a film about the poor people from Afghanistan who suffered the most when Bush and his allies bombed their already very poor country. How these refugees go to Pakistan live in tents and everything they have to go through when they decide to search for a better life in one of the world's biggest cities like London. The things the 2 young people have to go through are presented in such a way that it makes you understand that these things REALLY happen. This film makes you aware of some of the most important problems in the world, such as inequality, poverty and even crime. It's not that we don't know about these things already, it's just that we tend to forget them.

Last year it was "Lilja 4ever" that made me more of aware of the problem of child prostitution and this year it was "In this World" who made me wonder if there is a way that I could help all these unfortunate people. Stories like "In this World" and Lilja 4ever" (which I recommend to anyone who believes this film is important and a must-see for everyone who wants to be called a human being) can really change the world and make us better people. And therefore they are very important.

A strong and beautiful docudrama that brings the dangerous journey that illegal immigrants have to undertake very near. The story is thrilling and real at the same time. You knew it exists but after seeing the film you know far better how it can be.

This movie made me feel very uncomfortable, mainly because it blurs the boundaries between documentary and feature film. Had it been a genuine feature film based on a true story, it could have been a great movie. However, the introductory comments turned it into a documentary style movie and keeps you wondering how can the film team let this happen, why do they not interfere? The crew acts on some kind of deistic principle, we create but do no longer interfere after creation. Of course, the story is very moving and there are great shots and Jamal is a wonderful character. That is probably where my problem lies - how am I relate to this movie and its characters? I was wondering if spectators could gain something from this blurring of boundaries, but I have not been able to think of anything yet. The disintegration of reality? But where does this lead me? The disintegration of the reality of refugees? And the blurring would force spectators to look for orientation as much as Jamal does on his tour across a landscape that is at once very real and very surreal? I don't know if that is the intended effect, but maybe I search too far. As Winterbottom reveals in the additional footage and comments, the film crew intended to shoot some kind of road movie (paraphrase). However, I wonder if it is legitimate to use the tragic story of a refugee boy to achieve this goal. Is the initial concern about the fate of refugees just a pretension and a great backdrop to turn a road movie? I am sure the crew's motivation was honest, but it also seems that the tragedy of human refugees presented an ideal backdrop to shoot a exciting road movie. And, in my view, the two do not go together well and the product does not, ultimately, take me to a higher or just different level of understanding. Comments welcome.

This is a fascinating docudrama. The human smuggling drama unfolds steadily with a few good plot twists, as the 2 main characters trek across two continents (mostly by land) toward their destination (London).

Streamlined film-making on location, combined with the use of very talented untrained actors, makes the "movie" seem more like a well-done, dramatic documentary. The surround sound also heightens the "realism" of the journey and is excellent.

If you want to increase your enjoyment of the film, I strongly recommend that you take an extra hour or so to watch the behind-the-scenes featurette, director's commentary, and trailers. Although neither of the main characters is a professional "actor", by watching these special features the viewers discover that the young man who played the part of Jamal (real name of Jamal Udin Torabi) has been trying to gain status in the UK as a legal alien. That "revelation" further heightens the emotional impact and socio-political importance of this excellent film.

Get it and enjoy watching it.

Michael Winterbottom's docudrama gives us a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes when people try to emigrate to better their lives. He worked with non professional actors. It is a wonder he was able to capture so candidly the world in which the would be immigrants live and what motivates them to leave a land where no opportunities exist.

The father of Enayat was naive in thinking that because his son wanted to go to London, it was going to be an easy proposition. Little did he know what Enayat and Jamal must go through before they arrive at the final destination. In a way, one wonders whatever Enayat must have thought he would encounter in London, not knowing the language, or not being as swift as Jamal turns out to be.

In a way one must have to admire such determination in someone as young as these two Afghan friends. They live in a primitive society but it is obvious that they realize there is a big world out there where one can make a living with better conditions.

The film becomes a road movie about all the difficulties Jamal and Enayat encounter along the way. There is also a tragedy that we were not prepared to witness, but in a lot of ways, it's a tremendous positive film, one that presents us a young man of such resolution that shows us he will be a survivor, no matter what.

I thought the mini-theater would be virtually empty, but it was so crowded that they had to bring some additional chairs. I was surprised knowing so many people wanted to know what was exactly happening in Afghanistan or Afghan people. Surely, the audiences, including myself, have known the facts only this kind of media can tell.

There is no future in Afghan refugee camps. Grownups want to give their boys a chance to grab the future, and render them to people smugglers. Their journey to London is full of danger. They are handed from a smuggler to another. Particularly the younger boy shows good head and daring, which eventually do not pay off.

Such illegal immigration is happening anywhere in this world. This film raises the subject with the power only films can have.

In This World (2002) is a British docudrama directed by Michael Winterbottom.

The film follows two Afghani men as they travel overland from the Peshawar, Pakistan refugee camp to sanctuary in London.

Jamal Udin Torabi plays Jamal, an adolescent. Enayatullah portrays Enayat, who is somewhat older. Both of them are brave, intelligent, and resourceful. However, they have to travel 3,700 miles through dangerous locations. Each stop is hazardous. They face discovery or worse at every turn.

Both actors are non-professionals who appeared in this film only. The situations they encounter were collected by director Winterbotton from various refugees who had endured those events. Most of the dialog was unscripted. The actors were told to talk to each other as they would do in real life.

This movie would probably work better on the large screen, because of the vastness of some of the lands through which the two travel. However, it worked well enough on the small screen.

In This World has a pretty good IMDb rating of 7.3. I thought it was even better than that, and rated it 9.

This is one of those rare movies that isn't like any other you've ever seen before, it is surprising to see a something of this caliber in the cinema today. The film is almost an epic, but not in the classical sense of Spartacus or Lawrence of Arabia, but rather an epic of human journey. The story in and of itself is riveting, but this is enhanced by the fact that most of the filming was done with small digital cameras. You feel just as if you were traveling along with them, you see what they see, you can feel what they felt with more honesty that most films can deliver. The film also provides you with a unique inside view of the cultures and ways of the middle east area of Asia. Its amazing to see how when the journey takes place, Enyat is living in nothing more than squalor but as he travels westward, western society slowly creeps in to the scenery. I must say that because of this film I will never look at immigrants the same again, and have a new found respect for them.

What a muddled mess. This film, under the assumed pretense of being "artistic" fails on every count. Is it a documentary or isn't it? Some scenes are staged, apparently, and some aren't. The story, as it appears to unfold, is about a man wanting to travel from Afghanistan to London, through sometimes treacherous Mid-East countries, and the young guide who agrees, for a price, to take him there. Every step of the way is captured on what must be the world's shakiest camera. And for the life of me I could not summon up any sympathy for the lead characters. Why did the man want to go to London? To see his family? Or to join a terrorist cell? It wasn't made clear to me at all. For a much better movie on a similar subject, with better direction, acting, writing and cinematography, check out "I Am David" about a boy escaping a Nazi concentration camp to make it to a free country.

This is a travelogue that you'll never see on public TV. Its quasi-documentary approach following the two Afghan refugees is compelling, grim, but essentially humanistic if one accepts the idea that hope still has a place in the most unpromising lives and conditions. In a way, the film reminded me of the strength of weeds that break through concrete by their inherent need to grow. The boy's resourcefulness and motivation are well-displayed in this episodic treatment. There's no need to spell out every detail of how he moves forward because the film is not necessarily accurate; it is completely credible however. It is also rampant with juxtapositions of modern technology and time-honored tradition, but nicely avoids offering judgment except perhaps to make some points about Islam's sense of brotherhood. There is great generosity as well as venality. As to its digital format, this is the best I've seen of that genre. The scene in the snowy mountains, with its extreme graininess, was extraordinary. Overall, a wonderful experience that will be overlooked by, or unavailable to, far too many.