Movies have always been battlegrounds of contested identity. In any story that’s concerned with society, national and cultural identity are crucial to creating context for the characters. Different films have wildly different imaginations for how cultural and national identity are shaped. That principle is what gives birth to propagandistic films, which typically glorify the value of one’s national identity and treat it as a measure of morality — think Sundance hit Birth of a Nation and Bradley Cooper’s American Sniper.
Today, as globalizing forces have caused the greatest mass migration phenomenon in history, that principle has also given birth to the opposite spectrum of films: about displaced individuals, navigating a life with severed ties to their former national identities. The immigrant experience is a harrowing, exuberant process of change that defies an easy characterization. It’s not merely hard, and it’s not merely joyful. Here are the best movies about the immigrant experience, those that manage to capture the true depth of this process.
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9 Live and Become
Les Films du Losange
Live and Become is a French drama about the spiritual journey of a Christian Ethiopian boy escaping famine to Israel. Director Radu Mihaileanu takes a careful look at the intersection of race, politics, and religion through the protagonist’s struggle to survive. The film is bold enough to describe not just his pain, but by the end, his peace and joy at having bridged such vastly different worlds. Despite taking on such large, societal issues, Live and Become feels like an introspective look into a life torn and then united by a cultural divide.
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8 Black Girl
Black Girl details the hardship of a Black, Senegalese woman immigrating to France in the immediate aftermath of Senegal’s independence. Despite taking place after Senegal gained its independence, colonialism haunts this film in the way that Diouana, the main character, is mistreated in her role as a domestic servant. Director Ousmane Sembène was a celebrated African author and filmmaker, and tells this story masterfully. It’s considered a triumph, and the first internationally recognized sub-Saharan African film.
7 Ali: Fear Eats The Soul
Tango-Film
In West Germany, a migrant Moroccan worker falls in love with an elderly German woman. Their relationship defies social norms, and the two must navigate what it means to love each other when their affection is derided and chastised by the rest of society. Reiner Werner Fassbinder’s film is considered a masterpiece for its ability to disarm the audience with unconventional humor and navigate the nuances of this strange pairing. Fassbinder’s depiction of Ali and Emmi’s relationship is a reminder that love persists in shapes and forms that defy even the largest imagination, but that the human capacity to love knows no similar limits. The film also appeared on Martin Scorsese’s list of “39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker”.
6 Un Cuento Chino
Pampa Films
A cynical, nihilistic Argentinian man has an extended encounter with a Chinese immigrant that encourages him to look past his biases and open his heart to the possibility of an enjoyable life. Un Cuento Chino is a story of how bridging cultural difference is a route to an enlightened world view. Roberto, an embittered veteran comes to befriend Jun, a displaced Chinese immigrant whose lighthearted and cavalier attitude acts an antidote to Roberto’s depressing outlook on life. The wit and humor at the core of this story are what separate it from similar stories about cultural difference.
5 Minari
A24
Lee Isaac Chung directs this semi-autobiographical story about a South Korean immigrant family moving to the United States. Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-Jung, in two of the lead roles, give Minari a heart that becomes impossible to ignore through two incredible performances. Rural American values conflict with the family’s cultural roots, and the film handles this contrast sensitively and honestly. The experience of the film’s youths, their spirit, and their resilience makes for a meaningful exploration on the process of assimilation.
4 Amreeka
National Geographic Entertainment
Amreeka is a film about a Palestinian-American family moving from the Palestinian territories to suburban Chicago, where they encounter all the prejudice of post 9/11 America. The kids in the film face discrimination for their identities, but the story navigates it all with a lightness that reflects the strength of these characters. They refuse to be seen as victims despite suffering from discrimination, and each of them demand to be understood as complex, vibrant individuals.
3 The Namesake
Mirabai Films
This story about Bengali immigrants making the transition from Kolkata to New York City is based on a book of the same name by renowned Bengali author Jhumpa Lahiri. Mira Nair directs this adaptation, which accurately captures the unique, specific difficulty of raising a child who seeks to fit into an environment that is hostile to his cultural roots. Rebellion against change gives way to a newfound respect for tradition and novelty ,not just by the immigrant couple’s son, but also by Mira Nair’s direction in the way she characterizes the stasis achieved by this family. The Namesake is honest in all the right ways, allowing these actors and their roles enough room to breathe. As a result, the characters move this story forward in an unceasing march towards harmony in a life where cultural identity is the site of conflict.
2 Persepolis
Celluloid Dreams
Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel about a young girl growing up during and after the Iranian revolution makes an elegant leap into the medium of film, with a gorgeous black-and-white style of animation that makes this story incredibly unique. Persepolis follows Marji, a rebellious young girl trying hard to find sources of joy when religious oppression and oppression towards women is at an all-time high. A well-told coming-of-age narrative using themes about societal unrest and cultural identities makes Persepolis a complex story, and the result is a fascinating film about the persistence of a youthful spirit.
1 The Joy Luck Club
Hollywood Pictures
The Joy Luck Club is a 1993 adaptation of a novel by Amy Tan, a celebrated Chinese-American author. The story follows four Chinese women living in San Francisco who routinely gather to play mahjong, creating a practice of community that allows them to speak freely and explore this unique cultural experience together. The experiences of these mothers are juxtaposed with the experiences of their daughters, creating a dialog within the film between generations and differing cultural experiences. Immigrant pain is held and uplifted by immigrant joy in this story, which offers a meditative and infectious sense of peace to anyone wondering how people create meaning in the world. Some two decades after its release, a producer for the film revealed that scripts and plans for a sequel are circulating around Hollywood.
