Set in Seattle, Know Your Place follows 15-year-old Eritrean-American Robel Haile as he moves around the city running errands for his mother. Writer-director Zia Mohajerjasbi has a deft eye for capturing the idiosyncrasies of an immigrant community living like one big extended family in this northwest metropolis. He conjures up complete portraits of the characters in the story, though he doesn’t always master the rhythm of the narrative. This combination makes for a touching, if uneven, viewing experience.
Robel (Joseph Smith) lives with his mother Amuna (Selamawit Gebresus), his older sister Fayven (Esther Kibreab) and his sick grandfather (Haileselassie Kidane). There is no other father figure and the film hints at the daily struggle of this immigrant family. When they receive a call late at night from Eritrea asking for urgent help, Amuna entrusts Robel with delivering a heavy suitcase full of medicine and some money across town for a sick family member back home.
His friend Fahmi (Natnael Mebrahtu) accompanies him, and along the way they encounter helpers and obstacles, encountering a series of characters and situations that delay their arrival at their intended destination. Over the course of this journey, Mohajerjasbi portrays a young man torn between two realities, one in a compassionate extended family and another in the alienating big city.
It is within this extended family that Know Your Place finds its most interesting sections. It presents the chaos and love of a large community. There are obligations and unmet expectations, but also love, happy times, and good food. There are meddling relatives who judge and admonish, as well as friends who care and help navigate chaotic situations. The film slows down a few times to introduce new characters who add a variety of elements to this community portrait, even if they don’t drive the narrative forward. These moments feel earned and make the story stronger and more cohesive.
However, the sluggish pacing also leads to repetition that mars Robel’s journey. There are too many interruptions and restarts as Robel and Fahmi make their way through the city. Some of the characters they encounter are more than a touch stereotypical and not always believable. There are too many scenes of Robel and Fahmi meandering around that don’t add much. The actors have made their connection and their dislike clear in the first few scenes. Later, the film takes too long to get to its conclusion, as if searching for a happy redemption it couldn’t achieve.
Smith handles his character’s many difficult situations with careful and considered performances. In particular, he builds believable relationships with Gebresus as his mother and Kidane as his grandfather, who suffers from dementia. In a later scene, Smith and Kidane, in an emotional but spare scene, reveal the entire story of this family in very few words. It’s just their faces looking at each other and their bodies tenderly embracing. Gebresus fills the frame with open-hearted love even when her character is distressed or frustrated, suggesting how this family remains a strong unit despite the daily struggles.
Nicholas Wiesnet’s camera sensitively captures the streets and back alleys of Seattle, while his lighting captures nearly every emotion on the actors’ faces. As a debut film, Know Your Place promises a fascinating career for Mohajerjasbi. The filmmaker knows how to build honest relationships between his main characters, guiding the actors patiently and giving them the space to be absolutely beguiling. However, Know Your Place stumbles when it tries to pack too much story into it, and doesn’t always give its supporting characters the nuance it offers the main ones. Despite this, the film remains enticing and doesn’t lose the audience’s interest in its characters.
