I Was a Stranger: A Rashomon-Style Refugee Drama Unpacked

Brandt Andersen’s latest work, I Was a Stranger, lands squarely in the territory of films that wear their political intentions on their sleeve. It’s a piece that, for some, will serve as a wake-up call, while others may find themselves bristling at its approach. The film’s ambition is clear: to shed light on the Syrian refugee crisis through a tapestry of intersecting lives, but the execution is not without its complications.

Plot and Structure: Many Voices, One Night

The story brings together a disparate group—a doctor, a poet, a soldier, a smuggler, and a Hellenic Coast Guard captain—whose paths cross during a single, pivotal night. Andersen’s script attempts to capture the enormity of the crisis by offering a range of perspectives. Yet, in doing so, the narrative sometimes loses its focus, as if trying to juggle too many threads at once.

The film’s original title, “The Stranger’s Case,” nods to Shakespeare’s meditation on the cruelty we inflict upon outsiders. Andersen’s intentions are evident: he wants to remind us of our shared humanity. However, the film occasionally stumbles into the very trap it seeks to avoid, risking a kind of dehumanisation in its bid to dramatise real events.

Sensationalism and the Rashomon Effect

One can’t help but notice the film’s penchant for the dramatic. The nonlinear, Rashomon-inspired structure, designed to build suspense, sometimes feels more like a device than a necessity. Each segment ends on a cliffhanger, heightening the sense of melodrama. The tagline boasts of being based on “14 million true stories,” yet what unfolds on screen often feels like a collection of the most cinematic, high-stakes moments, stitched together for maximum impact.

Andersen’s approach, while earnest, edges close to turning a deeply human ordeal into something resembling a thriller for the masses. The intention is to engage, but the result can feel oddly detached from the lived realities it seeks to portray.

Perspective and Representation: A Western Gaze

Much of the scrutiny directed at I Was a Stranger centres on its creator. Andersen, a white filmmaker, is at pains to avoid the pitfalls of performative activism. To his credit, the film is less self-congratulatory than many similar efforts. There’s a sense that he’s genuinely invested in the subject, with at least a basic grasp of the crisis’s underlying causes.

Yet, the Western viewpoint is unmistakable. The depiction of antagonistic Arab characters veers dangerously close to stereotype, and the African smuggler—though brought to life with nuance by Omar Sy—remains somewhat exoticised. The narrative’s final act, featuring a white saviour, is perhaps its most glaring misstep, undermining the complexity of the issues at hand.

Ambition Versus Execution

Despite its flaws, there’s substance here. The segments focusing on Yasmine Al Massri’s refugee doctor and her daughter are particularly compelling, hinting at what the film might have achieved with a narrower focus. Andersen’s desire to capture the scale of the crisis is admirable, but perhaps too much for a single feature to bear.

Interestingly, the film’s lack of overt religious messaging sets it apart from other recent releases targeting similar audiences. It’s a work crafted by a Westerner, for Westerners, and judged on those terms, it largely accomplishes what it sets out to do. Whether that’s enough will depend on the viewer’s appetite for a story that is as much about the teller as it is about those whose stories are being told.