The biggest streaming movie of the weekend is the reunion of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in The Rip on Netflix.
But there’s another new movie on the streamer that’s worth your time and attention in January.
Earlier this week, Hulu added the underrated drama Fremont, which was directed and co-written by Babak Jalali in 2023.
This is a great film that very few people saw, and on behalf of Watch With Us, it’s my pick for the one movie you should stream right now.
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Anaita Wali Zada Gives a Fantastic Performance in Her Debut Movie
Jalali and his cowriter, Carolina Cavalli, cast an unknown actress, Anaita Wali Zada, to lead Fremont. And to date, it’s her only screen credit. That’s something that should change, because Zada gives a beautifully understated performance that feels very real. Like her character, Donya, Zada is an Afghan refugee living in America, and that gives the film an added sense of gravitas and emotional weight.
In the story, Donya was a translator for U.S. forces in Afghanistan who was able to leave her country behind and immigrate to America. Donya isn’t overly talkative about her past, but Zada’s facial expressions say so much more than words can. Her experience is something that haunts her throughout the movie, even as she longs to make any kind of human connection beyond her coworkers at a fortune cookie factory. It’s almost impossible not to feel something for this woman, because who among us has never felt that same desire?
It’s a Moving Exploration of Loneliness and Guilt
Gregg Turkington has a costarring role as Donya’s therapist, Dr. Anthony, and he’s a well-meaning guy who isn’t fully capable of understanding her plight. Donya’s scenes with Dr. Anthony are really her only way to openly discuss the intense loneliness and insomnia she suffers from survivor’s guilt. Some of the interactions between them are amusing and funny, but there are poignant moments of emotional exploration as well.
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Donya isn’t the only one who has issues with her life, as seen through her coworker, Joanna (Hilda Schmelling), who seems like she really needs a friend as well. As you’ve probably noticed by now, the entire film was shot in black and white, and the lack of color seems appropriate for the bland lives that Donya and Joanna have to endure. That also sets the tone for the film’s realistic touches, which keep it from feeling artificial or forced.
The Ending Hits Just the Right Note
The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White has a very small, but memorable cameo near the end of this movie as a man named Daniel. We are not going to spoil how and why Donya and Daniel meet, but bringing those two together even for a few brief moments gives Fremont a sense of warmth that may mean Donya’s life won’t always be so bleak and empty.
This film doesn’t go for a Hollywood ending where everything is neatly tied up and the main character lives happily ever after. But you get the sense that Donya is going to be okay, and that’s a spark of hope in an often hopeless world that we could use more of.
Fremont is streaming on Hulu.
