FREMONT

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Storyline (warning: spoilers)

Fremont is the fourth film from Iranian-English director Babak Jalali and it is an utter delight: a wry musing on the human connections and possibilities that spark in the most unexpected places. The film centres on beautiful and troubled 20-something Donya, a former Afghan translator who emigrated to California eight months ago and now works in a Chinese fortune cookie factory in the city of Fremont. It’s a lonely existence. She resides in a tiny apartment, survives on a meagre income, and has no family around her. Her only friend is a chatty work colleague and she spends her days composing enigmatic and inspirational statements to be enclosed in a crunchy sugar casing. She’s one of the lucky ones, but Donya can’t help feeling that her own fortune is a blank slip, her hopes for the future erased by her exile. As her fortunes are read by strangers, Donya’s smouldering longing drives her to send a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.
Jalali's direction is understated yet powerful, allowing the film's quiet moments to speak volumes. The narrative is driven by character interactions and small, intimate scenes that reveal the complexity of Donya's inner world. The inner workings of the fortune cookie company provide some comic relief as Donya interacts with a semi-deluded boss, an elderly lady who can barely use a computer, and a broken coffee machine. Laughs are also drawn from her appointments with a quirky, book-loving therapist (Turkington) who reluctantly prescribes sleeping pills to help with her insomnia.
It’s admirably understated and authentic film-making, that deftly captures Fremont's mundane beauty and the sense of isolation felt by its residents in high contrast black and white. A sparse, loose-limbed jazz score adds to the film’s gauche charm. Fremont is more than just a story of immigration; it’s a universal tale of finding oneself in unfamiliar places and the quiet resilience of the human spirit. It leaves audiences with a subtle but profound reminder of the power of empathy and the importance of small connections in a vast, often indifferent world.