Good where we're not. Before you go in search of a better life in another country, you should think several times and weigh everything well, prepare, because such enterprises are not always successful. Instead of milk rivers with sour shores of a person can expect the harsh reality of a foreign land, with its unusual laws and rules, as well as the problem of getting a decent job. All this is likely to provoke longing for the homeland and close people. So it happened in the picture of the Polish director Dariusz Gajewski about an ordinary Polish family (Mareka, Bashu and their daughter Ulyu), who moved to Sweden. If Marek is still cheerful, then Bashu and Ulyu life under a strange sky is oppressing, although in general everything is not so bad, but only until the little lie daughter does not lead to big problems. The social service gives the girl to a foster family, in connection with which, legitimate, quite prosperous parents have to win back their own child.
In addition to the family drama in “Alien Sky” shows another, more global drama, namely the disunity and misunderstanding between people from different countries, although the director does not particularly focus on this, giving the viewer the opportunity to draw conclusions. It also mixes the issue of migration and how a person feels far from home. In the aggregate, there is a negative effect, a feeling as if the body rejects an uninhabited organ, especially if it is difficult for the immigrant to adapt to new living conditions. In the case of our heroes, that organism is Sweden. It appears hostile, unpleasant, cold. The creators of the picture enhance this feeling thanks to color correction in the style of the thriller, making the shades more muted and pale, due to which there is an atmosphere of some depression and discomfort.
We should also mention juvenile justice. Sweden was one of the first countries to implement it. And this is not about special work with juvenile offenders, but about protecting the rights of the child. There are different ways to approach this topic, but the fact is that normal families often suffer, becoming hostages of the system, as shown in Alien Sky. Of course, it is necessary to protect the rights of children, but to do this adequately, without overdoing the stick, otherwise the good deed slides into Stalin’s repressions or witch hunts, and social workers become inquisitors. They wanted the best, but it turned out as always. In Gaevsky’s film, social worker Anita does not even try to understand the situation and understand that the child has not yet fully adapted to a foreign country. She blindly believes Ole, who in a fit of momentary resentment says that her parents beat her. The girl just wanted a kind aunt to feel sorry for her, but everything turned out to be a disaster. This situation is similar to “Alien Sky” with the Danish film “Hunting”, released three years earlier. Children's lies have also led to serious consequences.
Summing up, we can say that Gaevsky has a multifaceted, topical film that touches on important issues, but a little exaggerated. Perhaps that is why it caused mixed reactions in Poland and abroad. Whatever it was, “Alien Sky” makes you think about a lot, including what is good where we are not.