Docudrama ‘Along the Way’, about two sisters on the run, commands admiration ★★★★☆

They now reside in an asylum center in Germany, but when director Mijke de Jong met the sisters Malihe and Nahid Rezaie, they had been living for years in the infamous refugee camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos. De Jong did volunteer work there and gave workshops. The sisters, identical twins, let her know that they would love to be in a movie.

That wish was the starting signal for Along the Way, a docudrama that draws on the experiences of the Afghan sisters, who were still teenagers when they fled from Iran to Greece via Turkey. Along the way, they became separated from their mother and other relatives. They had to get by together, for years.

the young (Blue Bird† Layla M.† God Only Knows) processed their history — and that of other refugees — with writers Jan Eilander and Jolein Laarman into a clear and gripping scenario. It is about the sisters Zahra and Fatima, who dream of reaching the Netherlands and becoming filmmakers, but first have to overcome countless obstacles.

Normally De Jong, quietly one of the best Dutch directors for a long time, does not turn a blind eye to this type of realistic drama. This time it commands extra admiration. How did she realize the film, while all the actors are refugees without papers? There must have been a lot of organizational constraints, but it’s Along the Way not to be seen.

The way in which De Jong manages to place the subject in a new light is also clever. Along the Way is certainly not the first film about refugees, but the two young, enterprising women as the main characters give the story a valuable perspective. The girls have to be extra careful, that’s for sure. In addition, their journey is a crash course into adulthood: between all the dangers, Fatima and Zahra also celebrate birthdays, learn to cook and try to earn money.

They are incredibly resilient heroines, strongly played by the charismatic Rezaie sisters. You’d Along the Way can be seen as a gift for those twins, who wanted so much to act, but that is far too limited. Malihe and Nahid’s input is a gift for the film.