Generous rating, unfortunately tiresome.

This didn't work. The first chapter ends with a not-very-likable couple reaching some kind of impasse. Maybe they love each other in some way. I was ready to follow them. They should have just made that film.

06/11/22: still not sure but went back and added a maybe-not-deserved third star.

Because coke ain't cheap.

This film affected me like no other. I found that three quarters of the way through I was moved almost to tears and the feeling just grew. When the end credits appeared I didn't just cry, I burst into applause as well, alone in my dark front room. This was the best catharsis. Pride, strength, triumph and most of all, of course, love. All that from a boy learning to read. That small huge thing. A family home in a cramped country suddenly the infinite universe.