Between Two Fires (2010) Reviews

• A living portrait of an awful choice

  gerritholl2010-11-06

  I had the chance to see this film months before its official release in Sweden, living in the town (Kiruna) where many scenes were shot, including some in my very own apartment block. But I did not like it for the fact that I recognise the pictures and some of the walk-ins. It really is a strong story, a good European drama story of world class. When the film was finished, the entire audience remained until the last title had been shown; a rare event in nowadays, proving that the film truly moves its audience. Marta flees from a village in Belarus after her boyfriend sells her child to organised crime. They escape and end up in a remote, isolated asylum centre in the extreme north of Sweden. She is afraid of everybody, but does succeed to create friendships. She manages to contact a woman from her village living in town, but soon finds out that things are not as she thought them to be. Bad vibes come across the viewer long before they reach Marta, thrown between hope and fear, joy and sorrow, as her application process proceeds through the usual stages. The film shows how many illusions newly arrived refugees have, and how little illusions are left as the harsh reality descends. In Between Two Fires, Agnieszka Lukasiak has created a moving story starting with a woman fleeing from a dark, dark threat to her young daughters life, and culminating in a choice so grim, so impossible, that it leaves the audience with a sense of shock. Between Two Fires.