There are few subjects today that stir up quite as much discourse as that of immigration, and it seems like the conversation around the people that seek refuge in supposedly “developed” countries will always undoubtedly devolve into ferocious arguments about the need to preserve a culture and its people, as if many of these countries were not built on the broken backs of immigrants over the centuries. The rise of far-right extremism has made xenophobia a far more acceptable point of view, and one that has continued to stir controversy and create unbelievable tensions amongst the global community. Art has always been one area that has been quite receptive to the plight of the immigrants – after all, the idea of telling stories of proud nationalists asserting unbelievable violence and hatred on marginalised groups is not particularly appealing from an objective point of view, since it is a clear case of punching downwards and very rarely has the impact we would expect. Many works tackle the immigrant experience, some being sprawling, multi-generational epics, others smaller and more intimate explorations of the lives of those seeking a better world outside their native borders. One tremendous example is Souleymane’s Story (French: L’Histoire de Souleymane), a powerful and provocative drama written and directed by Boris Lojkine (who wrote it in collaboration with Delphine Agut), which tells the story of a young man from Guinea who has recently arrived in Paris and is in the process of applying for asylum status. To pay for the process, as well as to support himself in his day-to-day needs, Souleymane works as a courier driver for a food delivery service, pedaling ferociously through the city streets in an effort to make a small living and avoid detection, since certain people see him as nothing more than a burden on their culture. Taking place over the course of two days, at the end of which Souleymane attends his application meeting, the film explores his daily routine, centring on his interactions with various characters. A poignant and compelling drama filled to the brim with unique ideas and a sense of genuine curiosity, Souleymane’s Story is a strong film, and one of the year’s most intriguing social realist gems, both narratively and structurally.

When you are an immigrant (regardless of legal status), something you learn very quickly is that every person you meet is either a bridge or a wall – some of them are willing to help you or at least offer support in specific ways, whereas others do nothing other than prove to be obstacles that stand in someone’s way. Part of the process of starting a new life in another country is learning to navigate these interactions, determining which ones are valuable connections to form, and which should be avoided for a variety of reasons. Souleymane’s Story is built around the idea of a young man who has only recently started his own journey, having lived in Paris for long enough to know a few people, but still struggling to have any meaningful roots, which proves to be an extraordinary challenge for someone simply seeking a better quality of life. The premise on which the film is based is that of an immigrant seeking out a better future for himself, but finding this to be an excruciating challenge when we realises that more people seem to be against him than in support of him, which leads to some questionable decisions that many would find to be inappropriate, but are done purely for the sake of his survival. The director uses Souleymane – who is depicted to be an ambitious and humble young man who is more than willing to work for a living and contribute to the society – as a representative of the many immigrants who make their way from third-world countries to those who have opened their borders to an extent (within reason), and exploring how these people survive when they are not only virtually invisible in terms of legal presence, but also viewed as a social burden, their supposed purpose being to drain France of its resources. It is not at all opposed to the idea of immigration, but it’s also actively against the idea of just showering these people with complete sympathy, presenting an intentionally critical view of the challenges faced by the immigrants who want to contribute, but who are constantly associated with the small but vocal group that is far less willing. Souleymane’s Story asks one simple question: Is it immoral to take advantage of certain loopholes temporarily if it helps in laying the foundation for a more practical, meaningful future? We don’t even get the answer, but we do find the film examining the subject with extraordinary tact and nuance, which is entirely appropriate given the subject matter.

For the part of Souleymane, a young man forced to reckon with a draconian legal system and a society that is relentlessly vicious to people like him, Lojkine needed to find the right actor to play the role. This is such a challenging, complex character who anchors the entire film, and whose perspective is all we come to know – so it stands to reason that the best choice of actor was indeed someone who had never acted before, which comes in the form of Abou Sangaré, a young mechanic and technician who, much like the protagonist in this film, left Guinea to find a better life for himself in France, encountering many of the same challenges in his pursuit of pursuing better opportunities for himself and his family. Casting non-professional actors is a common practice in a lot of social realist films, and has allowed for decades of works in which the artifice and splendour of trained acting is entirely dismissed, replaced instead with more subtle, nuanced approaches that can only come from complete amateurs. However, what many of us may not have expected when learning about this film and the story of how the director encountered the actor during an extensive open-casting call is just how incredible an actor Sangaré proves to be. There are many examples of non-professional actors delivering strong work, but very rarely do we witness such an explicit example of the star-is-born moment, the immediate escalation of someone from complete obscurity to worldwide acclaim. There is a reason Sangaré has remained undefeated when it comes to awards and accolades – this is objectively one of the most astounding performances of the year, an example of pure talent condensed in someone who likely never envisioned himself as being an actor (let alone the sole lead of a major film), but whose natural charisma and ability to play heavily into the truth of the character actors the entire film. It certainly does help that much of the character’s experiences mirror Sangaré’s own journey, which allows him to bring layers of authenticity and nuance to a part that would have been dreadfully overwrought in the hands of just about any other actor, a perfect example of how inexperience can be a valuable commodity when used correctly.

While it is true that the lead performance has become the most celebrated aspect of Souleymane’s Story (and rightly so – it is an incredible feat of acting), we also can’t dismiss the execution of the film as a whole, with the director being equally as worth of credit for being able to pull together so many disparate tonal and conceptual strands into a simple, straightforward drama that doesn’t intend to do more than it promises, but still manages to surprise us in various intriguing ways. The foundation of the film is based on decades of social realist filmmaking, where naturalism trumps melodrama at every possible opportunity – and this certainly does prove to be a relatively strong approach that the director uses to explore subjects that many would consider to be too challenging to represent on screen without becoming overwrought. He proves himself to be very skilled at handling these elements, since there is not a moment in this film in which we can see the seams emerging in any way. The key to keeping this film from become overly bloated and unnecessarily dense comes through handling the emotions effectively – this is not the kind of story that benefits from a heavy-handed approach, and while there was always going to be some degree of intensity present here (since this is the story of a young man trying to navigate enormously intimidating circumstances), it is primarily quite a simple and effective examination of someone simply seeking a better life, which is something to which we can all relate, or at least what this film hopes to achieve through telling this particular story in this way. It also helps that the director has quite a firm grasp on the style of the film, with the rapid-fire pace and striking cinematography perfectly reflecting the frantic nature of the film, placing us alongside the titular character as he dashes through bustling Parisian streets, working to make a living, despite the obstacles that surround him. It’s clear, meaningful filmmaking that is never arrogant enough to think that it is doing something we haven’t seen countless times before – but the nuances lingering beneath the surface are worth our time all on their own, which allows Souleymane’s Story to be a much deeper work than we may expect.

Ultimately, Souleymane’s Story is a film about the challenges that come when attempting to navigate a world we simply do not fit into. Those of us who are lucky to have the privilege of living in a developed country, or otherwise have the means to get by in situations that would be almost impossible for others, may not be able to recognise the deep complexities of this story, and how it is essentially an examination of an entire group of people who pursue better opportunities, but find themselves frequently struggling to actually survive, despite their best efforts. It’s nothing revolutionary, and instead aims to be consistent more than innovative, which is as good a reason as any to tell such a story, especially one that resonates this widely. It’s beautifully poetic in some moments, brutally honest in others – and beneath the surface, we find a film that challenges and provokes without needing to make any bold statements. Life is not easy for the majority of us, but it is clear that it is even more difficult for people like the protagonist, who simply wants to exist, contributing to a society that will always view him as beneath them, even though he is more resourceful, intelligent and brave than any of the people who diminish his skills could ever hope to be, which is one of the many conversations that this film quietly has over the course of 93 tense, compelling minutes. As a starring vehicle for its lead, who seems primed to become one of our most promising actors (his screen presence is beyond magnetic), Souleymane’s Story is a staggering work, and even if we may not be taken by the form of the film (which is admittedly very simple), its worth the price of admission to see how Sangaré commands the screen, delivering a complex, layered and provocative performance that is filled with unexpected nuance and charm, and ultimately becomes the foundation for one of the great social realist works of the current decade, and a film that will become essential viewing, at least in terms of how it tackles the immigrant experience and its unexpected relationship with the broadest tenets of the human condition.