Growing pains

By Daniel Nelson A group of traumatised refugees is deposited on an English allotment, watched warily by the group of English natives who already nurture their vegetables and brew their tea there. The blue touch paper is lit: stand clear. The result, however, Grow Your Own, is not a dramatic explosion, but one of those British comedies always described as bitter-sweet. It’s full of cliché characters – though the locals are drawn with more clichés than the newcomers, and the refugees’ stories occasionally hit a level that draws a genuine emotional response. The main refugee story focuses on a Chinese man who has fled to Britain with his two children but has become almost catatonic as a result of experiencing the death of his wife inside the sealed container in which the family was escaping. At other levels, such as the authoritarian ex-policeman who organises the established allotment holders’ resistance, caricature takes over. The film lurches between the two extremes, with the sweet out-tasting the bitter – though, tellingly, the disappearance of the perspicacious Iranian doctor (played by comedian Omid Djalili) and his family, seized by the immigration authorities, is startlingly sudden and leaves, as do real-life removals, a gaping hole with no happy-ever-after codas. It’s a slight film, but highly topical, its release timed perfectly for the start of Refugee Week (18-24 June). It also earns an unexpected topical bonus from an amusing scene featuring a rapid-fire discussion of people deserving deportation – with a vehement recommendation for Paris Hilton. But in these days of totally negative images of asylum-seekers we have to be grateful for any mercy, however small: at least we have a film aiming at a mainstream audience that treats refugees as ordinary people rather than demons. Djalili has said that “I suppose the film is really saying, ‘You know, we’re all just one big family – why don’t we help those who are in trouble?’” It’s a sad commentary on our intolerant times that such a modest message has to be welcomed as the best that’s on offer. For the moment, scale down your ideals and enjoy.

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