Dreamers review – deep sense of empathy powers emotionally vivid refugees’ drama

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A traumatised Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Britain meets a kindred spirit in Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s evocative tale This poignant drama was clearly made on a dinky budget that probably stretched to barely more than crisps and squash on the catering tables. And yet thanks to subtle, considered performances, a finely milled script, inventive craftsmanship and a deep sense of empathy for the precarious lives of refugees, it packs a considerable wallop. The story starts with reticent, clearly traumatised Nigerian Isio, played by Ronke Adekoluejo, who is subtle throughout in a role that could easily have been done with too broad a brush. Isio arrives at a women’s shelter for asylum seekers in the UK where she is assigned to share a room with Farah (a luminous Ann Akinjirin), who is already a few steps ahead of Isio in the legal process that permits applicants to appeal twice. (If the second appeal isn’t approved, applicants are immediately deported.) Although Isio is a bit standoffish...
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In Broad Daylight review – Hong Kong newsroom drama shines light on care home scandal

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Lawrence Kwan’s film makes some insightful points about journalism while letting in a few cliches too

Here’s a solid newsroom drama inspired by a string of real-life scandals involving abuse at care homes for elderly and vulnerable people in Hong Kong. It’s a film with a fair few clunking journalism cliches, and it never quite builds momentum. But the performances are uniformly intelligent and committed, and it has some real insights too; there’s the moral outrage a reporter feels as the penny drops, and she realises that people in positions of power already know about cruelty and neglect in homes. They just haven’t had an incentive to care.

Jennifer Yu is Kay, the star investigative reporter of a Hong Kong newspaper, semi-disillusioned by the job. After a tip off, Kay goes undercover at an understaffed, overcrowded care home, pretending to be the granddaughter of an elderly resident with dementia (she fakes concern when he doesn’t recognise her). The home is a dumping ground for people with a mix of needs: elderly and young people with physical and learning disabilities, all crammed in together. Kay watches a nurse slapping residents while the home’s manager (Bowie Lam) puts on the veneer of a kind man worn down by heavy responsibilities. But you don’t have to be a star reporter to view with suspicion the way he hands out ice creams to a pair of giggling teenage girls with severe learning difficulties.

In Broad Daylight is released on 19 January in UK cinemas.

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