Fremont * * * * ½

"Action makes more fortune than caution" (fortune cookie)

I really enjoyed this modest little film.  It's beautifully written, directed, acted and shot.

The story is of an Afghan refugee.  She now lives in Fremont California.  Each day she goes to work to a small family owned business that make fortune cookies. She chats to her fellow employees and to her neighbours.  

We learn that Donya escaped when Afghan was reclaimed by the Taliban.  She had worked for the US Army as an interpreter, which helped with her escape.  However the guilt and worry for loved ones left behind is always on her mind.

She can't sleep.

A neighbour introduces her to his psychologist.  Donya speaks to him regularly and their sessions give us further insight into the challenges of lonely Donya.  She knows some of her neighbouring Afghan refugees, though not everyone likes her. The politics of her old country linger.

She has a good relationship with a fellow employee - an unassuming working class girl.  She often eats in an empty cafe, watching a corny Afghan soap opera with the cafe owner - an old man. These are all beautifully constructed and acted scenes. 

Meanwhile at the fortune cookie factory Donya gets a new role as the "author" of the messages in the fortune cookies. She comes up with some good lines.   However one day she puts an improper and indiscreet message in a fortune cookie.  There are consequences, and an intriguing series of events follow, that almost mimic a fortune cookie's prediction.

Fremont is only ninety minutes long. It has a small cast and each one performs superbly. I do not know if the lead character has been in a film before this, but she is good!

It's shot in black and white. It's quite funny at times, but more importantly it is genuinely moving.  A beautiful small relationship drama featuring the unglamorous. One of the best I have seen in that genre since Fallen Leaves.