‘[Almost] No One Here Gets Out Alive’: “I Was A Stranger”- [And You Welcomed Me] Movie Review – Poignant Representation Of Wasteful Nature Of War

January 9, 2026 Jennifer Taylor 0 Charity, Entertainment, Morality and Ethics, Movie Reviews, Staten Islander Exclusive

‘[Almost] No One Here Gets Out Alive’: “I Was A Stranger” Movie Review – Absolute Waste That Is War

Something you hear in this film, and that people here in NYC and America have regularly heard, particularly from those in favor of mass deportations but also from regular folks, is: ‘What could be so bad that they would risk their lives in this way to come here (here being Greece – the closest place one can reach by boat fleeing Syria)? Is it about opportunity?’

This film seeks to answer that question in a way that is very moving and also quite sad at the same time. And it is made very clear: staying is far more dangerous than leaving. Staying, in all of the cases depicted in this movie, they were dead. Period. Sooner or later they’d be found and shot. By the hostile regime takeover in Syria. In 2015 during the Civil War there.

There are several very good maps at this page, and they have a thorough discussion of what was happening and why.

In this film, we met a doctor who is celebrating her birthday with her family, which is to be her last with them, unknown to her. Her brother did something stupid, and put their family in danger. A bomb explodes outside the house, killing everyone but her and her daughter.

So, she was dead. If the people attempting to kill her found out she hadn’t died, they’d certainly try to kill her again. So to answer that previous question: she wanted to be alive. That is the answer for many many other Syrians who undertook a perilous journey to escape a certain fate. Thousands would perish in the endeavor, including several characters in this film itself.

While brilliantly made and beautifully shot, the film was raw, which can be read as depressing. It doesn’t sugarcoat the refugee experience but rather reveals it in all its aching sadness.

The Coast Guard captain was quite reminiscent of the captain in the real life story of the immigrant fishermen held by Somalian pirates that nobody cared about – except this one captain. No one wanted to pay the ransom for them because they weren’t American or from any rich country but were poor themselves, so their families were unable to raise the demanded amount. But the captain never gave up on them, and their own ingenuity was able to save them with his essential help – because he never forgot them. Because of those kinds of situations, captains of freight vessels now are armed, along with others on board.

The story in I Was A Stranger (… and you took me in) is based on the real life experiences of millions of refugee migrants (including those who can no longer come to the US). The way in these stories intersect is not unusual. All of these people are thrown together and taken advantage of, while at the same time escaping a terrible fate. While their fate isn’t what they would have wanted in many cases, it’s better to be somewhere than nowhere. A doctor can become a janitor or a cosmetologist. A nurse might become a dish washer at a restaurant. But again, they’re alive.

It’s a great story told with raw emotion and great compassion. I would give the film five stars, and if you’re looking for a real representation of what War looks like, this is a great one to see.

The film’s synopsis, provided by Angel Studios:

Coast Guard captain. Image Credit – Angel Studios

I WAS A STRANGER follows the lives of 5 people impacted by the violence of war and their heroic search for safety and belonging.

Starring Omar Sy and inspired by Brandt Andersen’s Oscar-shortlisted 23-minute film REFUGEE (2020), the film has already been featured in more than 40 global film festivals including winning the Amnesty International Film Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Best International Feature at Raindance, Best International Feature at the San Diego International Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature and the Honey Levine and Ed Sinatra Award at the Lighthouse International, Best International Feature – Audience Award at São Paulo International Film Festival and many others. It has garnered numerous audience awards, with performances lauded by festival juries as “extraordinary” and “mythology-making.”