Spare Parts

A muscular refugee drama, Spare Parts may suffer from comparisons to the likes of Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things, but this powerful film deserves to be judged on its own merits. Part of the reason for this is the unusual perspective that Slovenian writer-director Damjan Kozole adopts for the picture i.e. looking at the refugee issue through the eyes of one of those involved in the trade itself.

Ludwik (Peter Musevski) is a thirty-something former motorcycle champion from an impoverished southern Slovenian town. Since his wife died from cancer - due perhaps to the proximity of a rundown nuclear facility on the outskirts of his town - Ludwik has also been diagnosed with the disease. Still the realisation that he's got a terminal illness doesn't stop him from doing his job, which is trafficking refugees with his assistant Rudi (Aljosa Kovacic) to the Italian border, where they are despatched around Europe by volatile paymasters.

A rather uncompromising affair, Spare Parts is a drama which never shirks from the issue or attempts to paint its protagonists in anything resembling an unnaturally favourable light. Indeed, by asking us to identify with one of the traffickers, the young writer director shows a remarkable audacity, piecing together the story without resorting to second hand sentiments or piecemeal moralising. It might not be particularly palatable, but this is an emotionally dexterous and ambitious film that asks some tough questions.