Sulam (2023) Short Film Review
Alma’s story in Sulam is compellingly universal. This is a very young teenage girl trying to overcome an overseen trauma, one we don’t speak about very often because we’re too shortsighted and think arriving in America is a story of automatic success. The dream is not free of cost, effort, maturity and emotional investment. Alma simply reacts in an inevitably human fashion and hides from the shame of being the bridge between her mother who can’t speak English and a country that somehow is still getting used to immigration.
With a running time of only 10 minutes, Sulam manages to tell a thousand stories. Stories of a population that shouldn’t go through what they have gone through in modern times. The hope is there of course. There’s a light at the end of a tunnel, but sometimes seeing it is difficult considering growing pains, math tests, and the social clusterf*ck some teenagers have to face, even in the most powerful country in the world.
Alma is studying for a math final. She knows she will make it. But the ceiling in her home starts leaking and her mother struggles to put a bucket and stop further damage. There’s no ladder in their home, so Alma must put her test aside to go with her mother to the store and get a ladder. It’s simple. Only Alma’s test is coming and there’s a risk she will miss it.
However, it’s not the only risk. When a schoolmate asks for her notes, she hesitates. She ends up being dishonest and replies “stopped at a Starbucks”. This is only the surface of the social circumstance Alma is subjected to every single day. Her mother doesn’t even know how to say “ladder” in English, hence the necessity of Alma’s presence.
At a moment of absolute panic, Alma runs away from the situation. It’s pure fear that makes her grab the phone and get away from a reality she’s tired of. In this minuscule circle of drama, Sulam takes place and teaches us a lesson about the glance you can find in immigrant children in America. They have been able to adapt as their brains are brand new sponges. Their parents haven’t.
In the question that comes right after, there’s a conflict I won’t address. We’ve all been educated differently, but we all know our parents would do everything for us. Even translate a single word that could allow us to make it through the day. But I’m an immigrant and can’t judge Alma for being the most human we can be in a mundane situation. Is she a victim? Of course. But isn’t her mom a victim too?
Alma probably made it through the day. Her math test surely got an A. But it wasn’t her last day as an aid to her mom. Her conflict isn’t over. Growing up is dire, but growing up an immigrant in a country that doesn’t see you as a great addition to culture is traumatic.
