Ghosts

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Audience Member An interesting approach to illegal immigration and to cinema, it is inspired by the tragedy of the cockle-pickers who died in Morecambe Bay in 2004. It tells us the story of Ai Qin, a Chinese single mum struggling to bring up her only son. For the only purpose of getting him a proper education Ai Qin borrows a huge amount of money to be smuggled into the UK. We follow her journey from a remote village of Fuzhou to Norfolk, where she is underpaid for working seasonally in the food industry. The housing conditions are bad, several Chinese illegal workers are cramped in a small and dirty terraced house, paying an abusive rent. When her crew runs out of work they are forced to look for employment elsewhere. In the meanwhile they are exposed to racist slurs by neighbours, agency staff and the police. Attacked by the British workers they have no choice but to pick cockles at night when they are surprised by the rising tide. The central characters of the film aren't actors but former illegal immigrants, it gives touch of honesty to a plot that a famous paid actor couldn't possibly achieve; in a way this is almost a dramatization of the tragic events of 2004. It is an engaging mix of fact and fiction in cinema, apparently the "actors" weren't given dialogues, everything you see is improvisation. They don't really have to perform, they just have to be themselves. Morally, the movie puts illegal immigration in the spotlight because, while British society criticizes it, it benefits from the low wages the illegal workers receive as the food they produce is cheaper. The sad fact of the real victims of the tragedy at Morecambe Bay is that they had to borrow a huge amount of money to enter Britain, and while they are dead now, their families are forced to pay the remainder to the loan sharks, back in China. The film inform us that there is a bank account for the purpose of helping repay the debt of the workers who died that night and everybody is invited to make a donation. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Well-made saga on human trafficking. The story revolves around a girl from rural China who illegaly goes to the UK in search of better prospects.Director Nick Broomfiled gives an unbiased view on such a topic. He elicts great preformances from his cast, especially the titular star, who is the real-life subject of the story as well. Pity this did not get more attention. Worth a look if you ever come across this title. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Przemyslaw F Realy bad movie by bitish version of Michael Moore... Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/14/12 Full Review Audience Member Just when you thought it was safe to be around white people Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member I liked it. This was a really sad story. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member What does "Ghosts" mean, ::鬼佬:: or the invisible existence of the illegal immigrants who work like slaves in the UK? or the both. I was stunned when watching this gloomy(sometimes grimy), documentary-style film on Sundance Channel. The true event was in the news a few years ago: 23 illegal Chinese immigrants drowned in Morecambe Bay when digging for cockles one evening(to avoid the assaults by locals under daylight)...... Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Ghosts

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