10 Best Movies About The Immigrant Experience Ranked (According To IMDb)

10 Best Movies About The Immigrant Experience, Ranked (According To IMDb)

From Gangs of New York to The Godfather Part II, which fantastic films best capture the immigrant experience according to IMDb?

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Shifting to a new country can be a challenging and life-changing experience for many immigrants. Such cultural exoduses have provided for some heartwarming and heartbreaking storytelling in immigration films. Regardless of the genre, these films explore the several aspects of immigration and the long-term impact it leaves on émigrés.

When it comes to this film subgenre, literary adaptations are aplenty, with The Namesake and Brooklyn being major successes. On the other hand, immigrant-centric films such as In America and Persepolis also draw largely from real-life stories.

10 Pressure (1976) – 7.1

Horace Ové’s gripping classic stars Herbert Norville as a second-generation Black British teenager who faces rampant discrimination in the 1970s. A son of migrants from Trinidad, he wishes to revolt against the everyday racism that he faces. On the other hand, his elders advise him to keep his head low and comply with the white people, as they wield the power in the country.

This constant clash of ideologies and race relations makes Pressure a highly relevant and historically significant immigrant film that deserves to be revisited.

9 A Better Life (2005) – 7.2

Driven by a star-making turn by Demián Bichir, A Better Life centers upon an undocumented Mexican immigrant gardener based in Los Angeles. After his disoriented son loses their truck, they both undertake a desperate search as the fear of deportation looms large.

The film functions as an empathetic take on the sacrifices that immigrant parents have to make for their children. The protagonist, of course, aspires to secure his job, but his first priority is to give his son ‘a better life’.

8 Paddington (2014) – 7.2

Paddington is a delightful family comedy and its titular animal is no less of a cultural icon in Britain. However, many tend to forget that the lovable animated bear is also an immigrant to the country, as he originally hails from Peru. After an accident shatters his family, Paddington shifts to London in search of a new home. After the Brown family adopts Paddington, he picks up an English accent and develops a fancy for marmalade sandwiches.

The film serves as a delightful interpretation of the British immigration experience, exploring the possibility of an animal adjusting to a change in environment.

7 Black Girl (1966) – 7.4

Given the fact that Black Girl was released in the 1960s, a film entirely told from a Senegalese person’s perspective was a unique feat for international cinema. The French-Senegalese drama serves as an eye-opener on the inhumane treatment that black migrants have had to face in other countries. The film uses flashbacks to depict the free-spirited life of a Senegalese woman which is then contrasted with the trauma she has to undergo while working for a French couple.

Mbissine Thérèse Diop’s portrayal of Gomis Diouana captures the naivety and the eventual disappointment of the immigrant discovering the truth behind the romantic facade of Paris.

6 The Namesake (2007) – 7.5

The Namesake stars famed Bollywood actors Irrfan and Tabu as a Bengali couple from India who migrate to the States with hopes to give their children a better future. As the couple’s son Gogol grows up, he naturally grows distant from his roots and identifies more as an American than an Indian.

The father-son relationship that forms the crux of the narrative might be relatable to many first-generation immigrants and their children. As it is, parents and teenagers have their fair share of a generational gap. In the case of The Namesake, this gap widens also due to the differences in upbringing and culture.

5 Brooklyn (2015) – 7.5

Set in 1950s America, Brooklyn follows the journey of an Irish woman who hopes to find new professional ventures in the country. As she adapts to her new life, she must make the choice between residing in Brooklyn permanently or heading back home. The dilemma only increases further with romantic endeavors and family expectations.

Unlike similar immigrant dramas, the film doesn’t just explore the transition to a new country. Rather, it also touches upon the possibility of an immigrant wanting to return to their homeland.

4 Gangs Of New York (2002) – 7.5

Gangs of New York places the mass migration of Irish settlers in 19th century America within the premise of a violent revenge movie. Even though the central story is regarding a man avenging his father’s death, several aspects of Irish-American history are touched upon.

This includes a conflict between the Protestant and Catholic groups, the protests by the Irish against the influx of free labor, and the Civil War’s repercussions on American society as a whole.

3 In America (2002) – 7.7

As is evident from its title, In America depicts an Irish family’s trials and tribulations to settle down and start a new life in America. Set in the hustle of New York City, the alienation and poverty that the family seems to encounter is amusing and melancholic to observe. Rather than delving into melodramatic titles, In America celebrates the little achievements and everyday adventures of its immigrant protagonists.

Director Jim Sheridan co-wrote the screenplay with his daughters Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan. This only makes the film seem more genuine and heartwarming.

2 Persepolis (2007) – 8

Based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name, Persepolis is a black-and-white animated movie that captures a young girl’s life in a war-torn and authoritarian Iran. As her liberal parents live in the fear of both Western imperialism and local religious extremism, a teenage Marjane migrates to Vienna for higher studies. The ensuing culture shock and solitude further lead her to a downward spiral.

Persepolis depicts its protagonist’s coming-of-age in a darkly satirical manner as the teenage Marjane struggles to find her identity. At her Iranian home, she feels like a foreigner while in Vienna, she feels like an outsider. It’s this constant search for herself that makes Persepolis all the more personal.

1 The Godfather Part II (1974) – 9

The sequel to Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus, The Godfather Part II shifts between the life of Michael Corleone, the newly-coronated monarch of the Corleone family, as well as the past of Vito Corleone before he became a Don.

In his Oscar-winning performance, Robert De Niro very convincingly plays a younger version of an Italian immigrant who would later become ‘The Godfather’ of one of New York’s leading crime families. Taking inspiration from the flashback sequences in Mario Puzo’s original Godfather book, the film conveys the dreams of Vito as he wishes to start his own business empire in America.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-immigrant-movies-ranked-imdb-score/

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