Simshar (2014) User Reviews

A Milestone In Maltese Cinema

[goodkingbob-914-59592 · 8/10 · 13 November 2014]

Simshar is a milestone in Maltese cinema. Simply put it's the best movie ever made locally in Malta.

Usually I am a bit hesitant when I attend packed cinema houses, as I don't want to hear too much talking that would spoil my movie experience. The audience at this premiere were impeccably silent! No, not because the audience was asleep, but because Simshar managed to grab the audience's attention in the first five minutes! The first 15 minutes are probably the most important few minutes to grab an audience. This was a movie that was working from the very start!

This review will focus more on the direction and acting of the movie rather than the story itself. I personally think that the summary on IMDb is just enough for the audience to know what the movie is about.

I have always believed that the director of any movie is the person who is responsible for the final product of the film. You can have the best actors in the world but if you have a bad director you will get a bad film! When I read about Rebecca Cremona's debut movie Simshar and the very hard struggle she had in making the Simshar movie a reality, I really felt that Rebecca was a real serious film maker that would not give up, regardless the short comings of money or any other obstacles that lay ahead. These are real dedicated directors that look for perfection in what they do.

Here are my impressions on the direction of Simshar. I've always felt that our beautiful Island Malta is one of the best places to shoot films. Our country has culture, character, beauty and a look that just brings out so much alive on the screen. The color used in the movie is like a painting that's come to life. Pause the movie anywhere you want and you will get a thousand beautiful photographs from the whole movie,The movie Simshar is impeccable beautiful to look at!

The last movie I saw that had my eyes totally fixed on the screen was Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Simshar might not have the eye candy and the huge budget that The Grand Budapest Hotel had but it is absolutely beautifully shot and your eyes will be glued to the screen. The technical use of slow motion in certain scenes is incredible. A particular scene has the wonderful actress Claire Agius in a state of panic during the feast village, we see various angels of Claire's face, the fireworks illuminating the screen during the feast activity with people cheering, and the worried face of Theo's mum (Claire Agius) running confused in slow motion. That scene is still rolling in my head even as I write this now! The use of slow motion in this scene adds a sense of dread and you can actually feel the pain the character is going through. Cremona uses as much as possible of our Island and traditions, I personally was eagerly waiting for the feast scene as it's a colorful scene even if it's clouded with the inevitably doom to come.

Probably one of the most challenging things to shot in a movie is water! However Cremona not only seems to have total control of this element, but shows how incredibly professional she is in shooting the water scenes. The Simshar scenes shot in the water puts the viewer in an experience to what it feels to be in an open water situation, experiencing the fear, the thirst and anguish of trying to survive this horrible tragedy.I could connect to every character on the screen because each actor and actresses have been chosen immensely well to play their part. A particular new face that impressed me with his acting was Jimi Busuttil who plays Theo's grandfather. I believe Jimi Busuttil is a real life fisherman, his acting in Simshar is something to be seen. I was also very impressed by Lotfi Abdelli who I believe actually learned the Maltese language to play the part! Adrian Farrugia (Theo) is also an inspiring young actor that will have the audience shedding a tear or two by his convincing acting. The acting in Simshar is immensely rewarding from the main actors to all the extras involved. Simshar is Rebecca Cremona's first debut. Every director started somewhere and in my opinion Simshar is a truly brilliant start for Cremona. Do keep in mind that the movie is 'inspired' by true events. You might come out of the cinema asking a lot of questions or seeking more information on the internet about the Simshar tragedy. If that happens to you, than you were alive for the whole duration of the movie. Simshar made you think, it made you ask questions and it made you interested to read and find out more. Simshar has already entered in my personal favorite list of movies for 2014. Experience this cinematic event on the big screen as it's meant to be seen. I rate Simshar - a good 8/10.

Simshar

[lischneider · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

The 2014 film called, "Simshar," inspired by true events, and directed by Rebecca Cremona, is a slow paced, yet somehow exhilarating film concerning the tragedies of Simshar -- the boat and the people on board. This film, although somewhat slow and tedious, kept me on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next. There were many obstacles the main characters faced that caused me to be frustrated for them because they were in such tough situations on the water. Many global perspectives can be inferred and taken from the film in different ways. For instance, when the main characters (including the father, his son, and the father's friend) were hanging on for their lives on one raft in the ocean, they were seeking for help, obviously. However, when the father's friend was waving his hands for help when a big ship went by, the ship decided to keep moving along because of the color of the father's friend's skin. This was interesting and somewhat shocking to me -- to see the line drawn out between immigrants and other people within a country. This intrigued me, and it set a new global perspective out for me.

Suspense packed

[drhupp · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

Simshar was a very suspenseful movie that included many political problems regarding refugees coming from Libya and other African countries to Malta. However, that was not the main focus of the movie, but it was something that had a great influence on the rest of the movie. It was almost as if the movie was telling two stories in Malta. One story included a doctor having to stay on a boat and help tend to the injured, sick, or pregnant women. The other story involved a family that were fisherman, they were being almost tormented by the government for having to re- apply for a fishing license. The family went out anyway, well the Mom and youngest son stayed home, but the dad, grandpa, and oldest son went fishing. They headed south and turned their satellite tracker off so the government couldn't find them, but one night a fire goes of in the hull of the boat and everyone has to jump overboard and hang onto small debris. The grandpa died right away which was sad, but expected. In the end only the Dad survives and he can't help but think about the death of his son. I'm pretty sure this story was true, so I don't think the ending needs to be changed at all.

Pretty Good Film

[pacoundouriotis · 6/10 · 4 November 2016]

This was a very nice film for me to watch, surprisingly. Since I've never really heard anything ever about Malta, it was cool and new to see a film where it took place in. I also like how it wasn't a touristy vacation movie, it was a serious film that was very similar to a documentary. It gave me a very on depth view of what Malta was like and how the country is doing. Some things I liked about the movie were the camera angles. I felt like the directors really went the extra mile in that aspect. I really liked how when the boat exploded, the camera was underwater and you saw the explosion from underneath the surface, and then the dad dove in the water. I also liked the scene where the camera was facing the junk raft and the survivors from underwater as the turtle swam by. Another cool angle was the scene where it was raining and the camera was facing down at Theo and his dad as they were trying to catch the water. There were a lot of sad scenes also though, something I'm not really a fan of. For example, the scene where Musa died, the scene where Theo and his dad were trying to catch the rain, and the scene where they find Simon, but he can't find Theo, and then the camera goes to the underwater shot of his body sinking.

Great Film

[logatherum · 7/10 · 9 November 2016]

I really liked this movie more than I thought I would. Even at slower parts, I was never bored. My favorite part was when the mother and the little brother were at home, looking out the window at the rain, probably wondering where their family was. I liked this part because the filming was really pretty and well done, like the rest of the movie. I didn't like when the commercial fishing boat, the Leca, didn't rescue Moussa, Simon and Theo. At first, when they spotted the boat I thought that that was it, and they were going to be rescued because Moussa and Simon got so excited. But when the captain wasn't too enthusiastic about picking them up, it kind of made me sad, because they were so close- but so far away. I can understand why the captain didn't save them though, since they were trying to focus on their job and there were just too many immigrants that if they saved all of them "they'd be coast guards not fishermen." I also didn't like when Moussa let go of the raft, basically knowing he would die once he did. I felt bad for Simon when he did this for several reasons. I felt bad because Moussa had just left Simon alone with a young boy who was very ill and dying. Also, Simon couldn't go and chase after Moussa because he had to stay and hang onto the raft with Theo, so he probably felt helpless. However, if I was in their situation, I would probably let go rather than hang on. If I was in their place, I would be so scared and probably lose all hope to fight for my life. I was amazed they made it as far as they did but after a while, got kind of painful to watch because I was just hoping they would be saved by a miracle.

Excellent directing

[olrovin · 6/10 · 2 November 2016]

This was not my most favorite international film that I have watched. The plot was interesting; however, there were some parts that were very slow. Before seeing this film, I had never heard of Malta. It seems like a very slow paced place to live where not a lot happens. The biggest news there is the constant stream of immigrants coming into the country from African countries. The tensions between the Maltese people and the African migrants seem to be fairly high, but the tension mostly arises from the Maltese people who are afraid of the migrants taking their jobs. I think I was bothered by the film because of the upsetting way that Theo and the others died. It was very frustrating and horrible for me to watch Theo, his dad, and the African migrant get passed over by the helicopter and the boat. I did really like the cinematography that the director used, especially in the scene when Theo's mom is panicking at the festival. The use of slow motion and the shaking camera really captured her fear and the panic of the situation. Overall, I would give this film three and a half out of five stars.

Quality movie

[jahouston-96994 · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

This movie really gave some great insight into the perspective about immigrants. What struck me most about the film is how when one boat had a chance to save the lives of three people, one of which was a child, decided to not save them. They must see so many immigrants to the point where if they stopped to save them all that they wouldn't make any money. It is hard to imagine being out at sea and completely ignoring people who you could have saved. It also was interesting to see the struggles the fishermen were having. It made me want to look into why they weren't able to just go out and fish. Nautical borders popped up which made me wonder why in the end of the movie the men who wanted to go look for the three people stranded at sea could not. I could see having restrictions on fishing, for whatever reason, but it is hard to think that these people can't just go out anytime they want to on their boat. I decided to look deeper into the real story of Simshar. Simon had a role as an extra in the movie, which I thought was interesting. The director has known him for 6 years. Simon and his wife are back together now. The cargo ship that was focused on that did not save the characters in the movies actually saved some people later in real life. I think that is very interesting. They decided to not save one group of people but then later decided to save others. There were five people in real life, with only one of they surviving. There was an investigation and there is little evidence that the events actually happened the way the lone survivor described them. It seems that there is not many remains and there is nothing to discredit the survivors account.

Amateur movie

[carmdav310 · 1/10 · 29 December 2015]

The ONLY persons who are gonna watch this movie is the family and friends of the producers, actors and the cast. The scenes that follow cut between the refugee boat, where Alex (Mark Mifsud), the grumpy Red Cross doctor, has been forced to stay aboard to care for a young pregnant woman, and the fishermen, who are forced to venture further and further from home in their search for the elusive tuna.

A couple of plot twists are predictable but so is life at times, and you can just about accept the speed with which Alex comes round to the refugees' point of view, strongly influenced by his growing attraction to their feisty interpreter. As for the fishermen's story, the sense of inevitability which shadows their voyage simply underlines its tragedy.

The film was Malta's entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this year's Academy Awards – the first that Malta has ever submitted to the Oscars. And you can see why it felt moved to do so.

Great Movie

[thmurphy-37414 · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

Simshar is a very amazing movie that really makes you think about the immigration that is going on in Malta. There are many different opinions that look into the immigration, yet many of them are very biased. As everyone in Malta hates anyone that comes into the country on a boat or however they make it into the country. The story starts off with the Red Cross and they eventually travel out on boat to a fishing boat that went and picked up many different African immigrants that are trying to make it to Europe. They have to stay on the boat until the decision has been made as to where they will be placed, either in Italy or Malta. The decision was eventually made and they were transported to Malta, where there was an outrage outside of the camp, but throughout that whole experience the opinion of the Red Cross man was changed completely. He realized that the immigrants do nothing wrong, and they have to suffer throughout it all. This is not even the main story, as the main story focuses on the fishermen and their life. They illegally fish for tuna, and eventually sneak out with the dad, grandpa, son, and worker on the boat and go very far out. A fire starts in the engine, and the boat explodes. The grandpa is killed, and the others make it in the water. There are many rescue opportunities that occur, but none are successful until the end, where the son and the worker have died, and the dad is the only one left alive. Before this, an insane thing that completely changed my mind on immigration, is when a boat saw them in the water, but turned around as they didn't want to pick up any immigrants and stop their fishing operation. To me that is amazing, yet I understand. I recommend you see this movie.

Shimshar: A Story of Survival

[cacrawford-60825 · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

This movie was very eye opening. I had no idea the amount of immigrants that go from Africa to Europe, but this movie really showed me how often it does happen. I enjoyed how the movie had a two separate plot lines that lined up. The boat that had all the refugees was very interesting, especially when the Red Cross shows up. When Alex first got on the boat, he was very upset that he was made to stay there by the lieutenant, but over time, he learned about the struggles that the people went through, and coped with them. Any movie that shows a progression of a character over time is very interesting, and this movie was no different. The other plot line of the movie was based around the Shimshar ship. Simon, his father, and his son Theo went on a fishing trip, but it all went wrong when the freezer started an electrical fire. They then all get stranded on a raft, and have to survive for three days. This is when the lieutenant shows up, and helps Simon's friends to get a search party together. The lieutenant is not allowed to do this, so he gets punished, but the rescue crew finds Simon. The movie ends on a sad note though, because Theo and Simon's father both die. Overall, this movie summarized the struggles of the African immigrants and fishing in Malta.

Great Film!

[rahilp · 8/10 · 6 November 2016]

In my opinion Simshar was a very good film. At first it seemed like the film was a little Americanized but it was proved wrong at the end. The film seemed a little Americanized at first because the little boy was going to work with his dad for a couple weeks on the boat. One thing that I did not like about this film was the boat catching on fire even though it was a key part of this film. I did not like this part because three people die from this one action or act. I do not even know how the fire started it seemed as if the boat was off to me but i guess it was not because it could not catch on fire if the boat was off. The fire was probably caused by a electrical problem. I think I saw them grab a fire extinguisher. Why did that not work? Was this realistic? Would they have been able to get the fire to stop if this was reel life? I believe so, I know the film was based on a true story but the fire extinguisher not being able to put the fire out actually makes no sense. Then they tried to get salt water from the ocean to put it out and that does not work either which makes no sense to me. Also if the soldier did not stop or delay the other fishermen search for Simshar then I believe they would have found the dad and son easier and the son would have got to live. Why does the soldier end up getting in trouble for letting the other fishermen look for him? they ended up saving one of their lives.

Simshar

[magonzalez-15762 · 9/10 · 6 November 2016]

I thought that Simshar was a very touching and emotional film. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I found it interesting about the background summary that they gave. The film seemed to have two different stories, one about the Simshar, and another about a merchant vessel that has stopped to rescue some migrants (I believe it was the Pinar E, but it could have had a fake name). The Simshar sinks, leading to the death of four out of the five members on board. There were some parts of the story that I did not understand however. For instance, why did the crew not fix their ship? They obviously knew that there was a problem, since they had to put out a fire a few days earlier. Is it because they could not afford the parts to fix the ship? And why was there such a hostility towards the refugees? There wasn't a great deal of logic behind their hatred, but when has there ever?

Lot done but well done

[tadegeare · 8/10 · 3 November 2016]

Simshar was a really familiar film. The overall excitement of the film had a very Americanized feel to it. The idea of a family going out on the water and a problem occurring. Then they are left at sea with no way to get help. There are American movies that are centralized around just that idea. But this movie had this, as well as other stories to tell. There was the concept of immigration to Europe and the lives of those people on the boat. There was the people who were working with those people. There was the mother and youngest son of the family at sea. All well told stories that strung together very nicely. The actors were really good, even the children. It was pretty hard to find anything negative to say about the movie but the ending was kind of confusing. The son was strapped into what they were floating on and then when the father regains consciousness and is saved the kid somehow is not there anymore. I don't understand that part and i think it could have been done better but definitely a great film overall.

Fishing Village Struggles

[magilroy · 13 December 2016]

Simshar, directed by Rebecca Cremora, as the official submission to the 87th Academy Awards from Malta. The movie takes place in a fishing village that is controlled by the European Union in Malta. The fisherman of Malta face many challenges when fishing for their coast is over fished and they have to go farther out to catch any fish. Not only is there a lack of fish, but a license is required to be able to fish, which is the main problem the owner of the Simshar faces when trying to fish. Mixed in with the fisherman in this movie is people immigrating from Liberia by boat. I was very intrigued while watching the movie because it was full intense cinematic moments including the struggle to survive that our main characters face after their boat blows up in the middle of the ocean. I think this movie is a must see as it shows a different global perspective that I have not seen in any American films. It enlightened me to one of the reasons why a boat owner may not rescue a person drifting in the sea. I gave this film a 7/10 because it was a joy to watch and taught me a few things.