The Good Lie (2014): Movie Review

This movie is quite fantastic. It accurately encaptures what it is like to come into America after having been in Africa, whether born there or having just lived and worked/volunteered there for a short time. The movie is based on true events about "lost boys" from Sudan along with a girl child who were all orphaned due to war in Sudan in 1983. They walked many miles on foot in effort to enter Ethiopia but when they came across a group of people traveling going in another way, they learned the soldiers they were trying to escape were there in Ethiopia too. Over 700+ miles of walking later and the loss of their friend due to thirst, they reached the Kenyan border and were placed at a refugee camp.

The story follows the lives of these kids who are then placed on a list to travel to the other side of the world to live in the United States. Having personally been to Africa, I had eyes for what someone who has not been there may not have, and I wanted to hold these people and educate those they encountered about how they can better welcome and equip them for immigration into the States. The script teaches us about culture shock and you find yourself either learning to see our culture differently or you find yourself relating in that you have been there and you get it.

One scene that particularly sticks out to me is when one of the refugees named Jeremiah gets a job at a grocery store and it's a scene where his boss asks him to throw out a shopping cart of bad food, food that has just recently expired as it was not to be sold to the public anymore. When they asked if there was someone who could use the food and were told it was not their concern, I felt that blow deeply even though I am a born American and have only recently gotten the chance to have my eyes opened firsthand to what these people in Africa experience on a daily basis. In the next grocery store scene, he is throwing out food again but catches a homeless woman starting to dig through their dumpster. Jeremiah tells her to stop and the woman thinks she is being scolded, only for him to say that what he had was fresher.

The boss happens to walk out to see this happening and confronts him about what he thinks he is doing. Jeremiah tells him it is a sin to not help others in need, and as I happily cheered him on from the other side of the television screen, he walks up to his boss, takes off his apron and quits his job. Now, his quitting came at a cost as a refugee with an agency backing him up in helping him to find employment, but I was applauding his behavior in that I agree it is quite ridiculous the amount of waste this nation goes through when there are so many out there both here and abroad who are going without.

I highly recommend this movie however, you may find parts of it very sad as the beginning of the film is quite real and some parts of it are not for weak stomachs. So if you think this is something interesting or you have a heart for Africa, grab your tissues. I would also recommend praying before, during, and after you watch this movie. It will definitely tug on your heart, it will make you laugh, and open your eyes to what we in the West take for granted every single moment of our day. Be ready to peak inside the hearts of these refugees and be blessed!