By Jaeyeon Kim, New York.
Bella, who raises three children in a suburb of London, heads to the supermarket for hungry children. A newborn baby and a deaf daughter are left next to a trash can to hide bread in an empty stroller. The person who finds it gives a pitiful glance, but even responding to Bella is just a luxury. Daughter (Lou) sits on a bench and eats bread stolen by her mother. The world reflected in those pure and still eyes is just beautiful.
Jota, who is hungry and has to tell her son to wait until payday two days later, is told by Bella that people from the welfare department are coming. They are regularly managed by the Welfare Bureau because of their poor circumstances and being the parents of children with disabilities. When Lou falls and bruises due to a broken hearing aid, the welfare department concludes that it is child abuse, and Bella and Jota's children are forced to be adopted.
The voices of the poor are not heard. When Bella raises her voice as she protests to get the children back, a welfare department official fills out a document stating that they have shown aggression. The children also beg to return to their parents' side, but they are not accepted. While Bella and Jota have a visit with the children, the welfare department manager prevents Lou, who is deaf, from conversing with her parents in sign language by urging them to use only English so they can understand them.
Are there no opportunities left for those who are branded as bad parents? With the help of Anne Payne, a former welfare agency worker, they plan to bring back their adopted children and return to their homeland. It is difficult to guess what kind of future awaits those who make the last and worst choice for their family to be together.
This film, which tells the story of those who had never listened, moved the hearts of the audience. It tells stories of poverty, inequality, child abuse, and forced adoption from a unique perspective. Jota, Bella, and the kids just want the family to be together. But the situation these children are in is enough to be read as abuse in the eyes of others. The director points out the violence of the social system in their stories. While the environment in which immigrant families are living deteriorates, a society that has been silent appears in an instant and destroys their lives.
The film received global attention by winning two awards at the Venice International Film Festival last year, including the Lion of the Future and the Special Jury Prize of Orizonti. Media such as movies and songs move people's hearts and lead them to positive actions.
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