The Backway

After being deported from the UK a young Gambian man finds it difficult to integrate and be accepted back in his homeland as the family that risked everything to get him there show only disappointment and resentment at his return.

As an illegal immigrant, Momodou (Jagne) is being deported from the UK and sent back to his homeland of Gambia. Taking the dangerous and risky route of ‘The Backway’ out of Gambia, across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, Momodou was sent to Britain with as much money and best wishes as his family could muster. Momodou’s father even sold the family home to help pay for his crossing, safe in the belief that he was sending his son on to a better life and a better world, where he could then make enough money to send back and keep the family afloat.

Nobody’s wishes came true, however, and Momodou now has to come to terms with being right back where he started, in the same situation that caused him to become an economic migrant in the first place, with no money, no job and no prospects, and now with the added ire of his family, especially his brother Alieu (Ceesay). The only person happy to see Momodou is his sister, Safi (Colley) and she tries her best to keep the peace between the men of the household, although with only limited results. Momodou’s father (Sonko) is now bedridden, with his health deteriorating rapidly and dementia robbing him of any family relationships he could still have had left.

Seeing the dire circumstances that he left his family in, Momodou must try to deal with his shame and his guilt while Alieu makes it very clear that he is no longer welcome within the family household. It is this conflict which lies at the heart of The Backway and which is the focus of writer, director, producer and star, Cherno Jagne.

Throughout The Backway we are treated to some glorious visuals of life in Gambia, although Jagne is careful to keep things muted and somewhat enclosed for the sake of his story. Cinematographer, Alain Philippe Cross takes in the people and surroundings with as much light and colour as he can get away with, but always there are metaphorical dark clouds hanging over the characters and their situation. The expressions on people’s faces are almost exclusively sombre and negative, while the backstreets and indoor settings are used to show the limited scope of their lives. In the end this engenders a feeling of claustrophobia in the viewer which allows us to identify and empathise with Momodou’s predicament.

The original music from composer Adriano Aponte also adds an extra layer on top of the visuals to bring the audience into Momodou’s life in Gambia. The extended chords and sombre tones add texture to the narrative and complement the emotions underpinning the story with remarkable accuracy. The performances, too, from Jagne himself, but mostly from Babou Ceesay as Alieu, really ground the reality of Momodou’s story into something tangible and concrete, taking a situation which may not be known to most and making it real for us on screen. The final moments of the film are an absolute testament to the power and the personal nature of these performances.

At only seventeen minutes long, The Backway fits plenty of backstory into its runtime and offers the audience enough relationships and interaction to believe in its characters and its narrative. It is a very well shot and put together film with all the technical elements coming together seamlessly to provide a very polished result. Cherno Jagne is a filmmaker and talent who obviously understands and loves his craft, and when the product of his endeavours is something like The Backway, we should all be happy to look forward to seeing what he is capable of bringing us next.