I Was a Stranger Parent Guide

It’s 2014 and bombs fall on Aleppo as Syria convulses in civil war. Dr. Amira Homsi (Yasmine Al Massri) is a pediatric radiologist, but she spends most of her time patching up the war wounded who flood the hospital. Then unimaginable tragedy strikes, and Amira is compelled to flee the country, along with her cherished teenage daughter, Rasha (Massa Daoud).

As the danger intensifies, Amira and Rasha cross paths with a government soldier. Mustafa (Yahya Mahayni) joined the military to preserve the dream of a united Syria, but when the intelligence agencies start seeing enemies behind every door, Mustafa begins to wonder if saving the regime is worth the cost.

I Was a Stranger is an unforgettable film that examines the Syrian refugee crisis from five different perspectives. Also included in the story are Fathi (Ziad Bakri), a poet who is determined to get his wife and three children out of a Turkish refugee camp and to safety in Europe. Marwan (Omar Sy) is the human smuggler who extorts money from Fathi and other desperate refugees and sets them afloat on the Mediterranean Sea in overcrowded dinghies. And Stavros (Constantine Markoulakis) is captain of a Greek Coast Guard vessel. He’s pulled thousands of half-drowned refugees from the sea but he’s forever haunted by the ones he can’t save. 

In the lives of these five characters, the global refugee crisis moves from political hot button issue to a simple story about people. People who are more than just their label – “refugee” – people with gifts, griefs, hopes, fears, and an overpowering drive to find safety for themselves and their loved ones. This is a deeply human film, one that shows us the best and worst of what people do to each other; one that reminds us of the innate value and dignity of every single human life. 

As a critic, it’s my job to point out the best and worst of the films I review, and I Was a Stranger makes that easy. It’s rare that I have no complaints about a production, but I have no criticisms to make about this powerful film. That said, I must warn parents that the PG-13 levels of war-related violence are too scary for children. There are repeated scenes of bombings, firearms use, and cold-blooded execution. People are shot on screen, and there are scenes of children dying. The violence is carefully sanitized (there are no jets of blood or splatters of brains or intestines) but there is plenty of death and danger. To be clear, there is no way to tell the tale without the violence, so I give credit to director Brandt Andersen for carefully walking the line between showing enough violence to tell the story honestly without going overboard into scenes of death and gore. Nonetheless, some of these scenes are very upsetting, and could disturb sensitive viewers with a history of trauma. 

With those issues in mind, I still highly recommend I Was a Stranger for teens and adults. The movie features an excellent cast, authentic sets, and deep, moving emotions. The story’s multiple perspectives are incredibly valuable, giving us a broader look at the experiences of those affected by Syria’s civil war. (I had never even considered the effect of the crisis on the members of the Greek Coast Guard, but thanks to Constantine Markoulakis’ moving performance, I won’t ever forget it.) In fact, if I have a complaint, it’s that this movie ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped all over it. It’s such a powerful experience that I have only three words: See this film. See this film in theaters so studios will make more like it – moving, humane, compassionate movies that reveal the world to our eyes and hearts.