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Bipul is an enigma: amnesiac, multi-lingual and with nothing to his name, he lives in a Belgian immigration centre with a group of asylum seekers. Despite his lack of a history (or, perhaps, because of it) Bipul is the glue that holds his thrown-together community together, acting as translator, arbiter of conflicts and comforter for many of the lost souls who live with him. Although he tries his best, life remains bleak for the asylum seekers: most are sent home, commit suicide or face a journey fraught with peril and criminality. When Lidia, a young Eastern European girl who dreams of living an idyllic life in England, enters Bipul's life and falls in love with him, things get a little more complicated for our quiet protagonist. This debut fiction feature for documentary-maker Manu Riche shines a light on the disheartening experiences of immigrants and refugees as they struggle to find a safe place to call home, even if that place considers them alien. (Cinemax)
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I’m not going to try to conceal the fact that I was looking forward to this one, but what I got was an average, or rather below-average disappointment. Problemski Hotel does offer an interesting topic to tell a story about and according to the synopsis, the movie looks very attractive. But the problem appears at the very start. The movie is very impersonal. The characters, even though they are interesting, are in reality really easy to see through. The viewer has no reason to root for them and actually won’t be surprised that they got stuck where they did. The protagonist Bipul is definitely the most striking character, who doesn’t really seem to fit into this situation, but who eventually ends up the same as anybody else. For the 110 minutes, I was bored rather than trying to empathize with the characters, who are trying to live, but in reality are merely surviving.
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