Great to be back in a cinema watching a film on the big screen for the first time since lockdown 18 months ago. And tonight’s film, ‘Limbo’, directed by Ben Sharrock, was hugely enjoyable.

The showing was in Screen 1 at DCA. Social distancing was still in place so the auditorium wasn’t full but that was fine by me, it was good to have room to stretch out.

Tonight’s audience was won over right from the opening scene, which exuded a wit and warmth that endured throughout the rest of the film.

The story revolves around a group of asylum seekers housed in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, a very different cultural environment from the countries they have come from.

Although ‘Limbo’ is a warm-hearted feelgood film it doesn’t idealise the daily realities of life on the island. Some of the local islanders are welcoming towards the asylum seekers whilst others are not. An undercurrent of racism bubbles to the surface now and again.

Visually this is a rewarding film.

I liked the long lingering shots of somewhat bleak but beautiful Hebridean landscapes, shots where nothing happens, nothing moves.

It’s a lovingly downbeat melancholic representation of North and South Uist, where the filming took place.

The cast are all very good, especially Amir El-Masry as Omar, the oud-playing Syrian refugee; Vikash Bhai as Afghan refugee Farhad; Sidse Babett Knudsen as Helga; Kenneth Collard as Boris; and Sanjeev Kohli with his droll appearances as a grumpy but goodhearted local shopkeeper, a role that fans of ‘Still Game’ will be fondly familiar with.

It would have been good to have heard more of the oud music at the end of the film. The rich reverberating sound of that instrument is stunning.

When ‘Limbo’ ended we shuffled out of the auditorium.

Rather than heading straight home we got a table at the DCA café bar restaurant and had a bite to eat, washed down with a big glass of Chablis.

As we walked home along Perth Road the wind picked up and the tree branches began to sway wildly.

This August evening felt more like early autumn than late summer.

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