London River

London River (2009) is a movie I have wanted to see after I read my friend Alex Ramon's review of it on his movie blog http://boycottingtrends.blogspot.com/, and I must agree that this worthy movie centred around the 7/7 bombings in London 2005, is a good watch.
French director  Rachid Bouchareb makes London a rather unreal and "foreign" place where two anxious parents from out of town search for their respective children that may or may not have been killed or at least involved in the atrocities.
Dowdy Guernsey farmer Elizabeth, Brenda Blethyn, is terrified of the Muslim surroundings she finds in and around her daughter's empty flat, while elderly African Osmane  Sotigui Kouyaté stalks the hospitals and mosques fearful that his son may be responsible for the bombings in some way,
These two unlikely characters join forces to find out the terrible truths about a day that still haunts Londoners and the resulting story is a masterclass in some outstanding acting. Blethyn breaks your heart as the initially prickly and racist Elizabeth, whilst Kouyate ( who died shortly after filming) is quite amazing as the soulful gentle and mostly silent giant who follows her journey.
Not everything works in this movie. Some of the scenes just  feel too unreal to work properly for a British audience ( The French speaking Police officer/ the non NHS -ish Hospital scenes and a rather sterile morgue sequence are cases in point)
But the acting, especially a towering performance by Brenda Blethyn is what I will remember from this film. and the scene when Elizabeth finally finds out the truth about her daughter, will literally rip your guts out.
8/10