I love this film. It's a very simple story of a mother (the always fantastic Brenda Blethyn) who hears about the bus bombings in London, leaves messages for her daughter in London to call her back, and when she doesn't hear anything for a while she decides to go to London and find out what's going on. She encounters the odd looking African Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyaté) and in lovely scenes we see this small town woman's prejudices and fear of the unknown. Their journey together is simple, real, and beautiful.

Sotigui Kouyaté was such a delight, and makes for a beautiful subject for photography. In fact, there are a couple of scenes in this film of him where the light is perfect and the lines in his face stand out and it's just, well, it's just one of the darned nicest photographs I've seen in film.

This is for those who enjoy simple stories and beautiful characters.

Powerful. A human portrait that reflects on prejudice and tolerance of racial, religious, and cultural diversity. Superb acting by Brenda Blethyn.

Film seco, sin concesiones ni filtros, sobre la búsqueda que emprende un padre y una madre de sus respectivos hijos desaparecidos durante un atentado terrorista en Londres. De esas historias fuertes que no necesitan de gran presupuesto para ser contadas y que terminan siendo tan efectivas como cualquier película de suspenso con gran producción. En línea similar (historia distinta) a la iraní Una Separación, la anécdota de A la Orilla del Río se sostiene por las espléndidas actuaciones de sus protagonistas y una historia que no deja indiferente a nadie. Me encanta la Blethyn pero su compañero de reparto (Sotigui Kouyaté) se lleva las palmas por la sutileza de su actuación. A verla!

Don't miss it. Strikes at the heart and past prejudice.

Moving story of two individuals, divided by race, faith and language, on a search for their missing children in the wake of the 2005 London bombings. Accomplishes everything that Intouchables could not.

Brilliant acting, story so so

An admirable attempt at tackling one of the most devastating weeks in recent British history. Although the ending falls a little flat, this is still good, grown-up drama with a superb performance by Brenda Blethyn.

A note on the viewing: Viewed on a 40" Samsung widescreen HD television in 1080i high definition on BBC One HD.

3 out of 5 (B-)

I really hate it when an incredible performance is housed within a sub-standard narrative. Blethyn is extraordinary in her role here, the ignorance of her character that might make her a difficult sell to an audience easily overcome with the emotional intensity of the woman's every word. I was captivated to no end by the enormity of the performance, but the problems of the narrative make it just a little wasted. It all seems to neat, too simple, too much of a pastiche portrait of London after the 2005 bombings. It never feels real enough, throwing a good deal of Blethyn's astoundingly real work out the window. By no means a bad film, it's just too convenient in the way it presents this world, sucking the impact out and leaving a story that's little more than "just nice".

I love this film. It's a very simple story of a mother (the always fantastic Brenda Blethyn) who hears about the bus bombings in London, leaves messages for her daughter in London to call her back, and when she doesn't hear anything for a while she decides to go to London and find out what's going on. She encounters the odd looking African Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyaté) and in lovely scenes we see this small town woman's prejudices and fear of the unknown. Their journey together is simple, real, and beautiful.

Sotigui Kouyaté was such a delight, and makes for a beautiful subject for photography. In fact, there are a couple of scenes in this film of him where the light is perfect and the lines in his face stand out and it's just, well, it's just one of the darned nicest photographs I've seen in film.

This is for those who enjoy simple stories and beautiful characters.