In this World

This utterly heartbreaking affair blurs the line between drama and documentary to tremendous effect, as British director Michael Winterbottom follows the hazardous route taken by asylum seekers journeying from Pakistan to London, via the much vilified camp at Sangatte.

More re-enactment than narrative then, In This World centres on Jamal, a 12-year old Afghani born in the notoriously bleak Shamshatoo refugee camp in Pakistan. When his cousin Enayatullah is sent to London in search of a life which doesn’t involve stitching Nikes and footballs for a bowl of starch a day, Jamal is sent too, having convinced his family that his knowledge of English will be invaluable.

So it proves. But the lads need more than linguistic skills for the perils ahead. The deserts of Iran, blizzards and gunfire on the unwelcoming Turkish border, and oxygen deprivation in the back of a terrifying freight container quickly start to make Homer’s Odyssey look like an idle saunter round a snooty golf-course.

Of course, Jamal and his cousin are – to borrow a phrase from Thatcherite newspeak – economic migrants, their chances of remaining legally in the UK are negligible. The result is a sparse, stark, yet moving film, and those keen to gloss over our own history of economic migration, not to mention career Sangatte-bashers such as Ann Widdecombe, should be strapped into chairs and made to watch this on a loop.

Unfortunately, being a Tory, she’d almost certainly enjoy the strapping part.