Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
As he pedals through the streets of Paris to deliver meals, Souleymane recounts his story. In two days, he has to go through his asylum application interview, the key to obtaining papers, but Souleymane is not ready.
Souleymane's Story is a gripping, handheld slice-of-life portrait of an undocumented Guinean immigrant navigating Paris's gig economy while preparing for a make-or-break asylum interview. Abou Sangaré's performance is extraordinary — naturalistic, physical, and deeply felt — anchoring nearly every frame. The cinematography is remarkable, using urgent close-ups and restless handheld work to immerse viewers in Souleymane's relentless pace and precarity. The plot is deliberately narrow and procedural, which is a strength in terms of focus but limits dramatic range. The film's approach — compressed timeframe, documentary-adjacent realism, non-professional cast — is well-executed but not entirely without precedent in the Dardennes-influenced European social-realist tradition. The ending is quietly devastating and authentic without being manipulative, though it stops rather than resolves, which suits the subject but leaves some viewers wanting more closure.