The Immigrant

It’s 1921 and the young Pole Ewa Cybulski emigrates with her sister Magda to the USA in search of a better life. Having just arrived in New York, Magda is immediately put into quarantine with suspected tuberculosis. Just as the authorities want to send Ewa back to Europe, she meets the helpful Bruno. The charming foreign man speaks her language and offers her custodial care. It soon becomes clear that Bruno wants something in return: Ewa has to perform in a burlesque show, from where the path to prostitution seems unavoidable. The young woman now sets all her hopes on Bruno’s cousin Orlando. The magician promises to help Ewa find a better life ... Loosely inspired by the story of his own family, James Gray presents an intense and painful melodrama that also sheds light on the living conditions of Immigrants at that time.