The Immigrant (2025) “A journey of hope. A price for freedom.”
The Immigrant (2025) is a gripping, emotional drama that redefines the immigrant story for a new generation. Blending personal struggle with political urgency, it follows one man’s harrowing journey from war-torn Eastern Europe to the streets of New York City — not just in search of a better life, but to reclaim his identity in a world that sees him as invisible.
Directed by Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals), the film stars rising talent Marko Petrovic as Luka, a former history teacher turned undocumented refugee. Haunted by a past he can’t outrun and hunted by a corrupt global trafficking ring, Luka navigates the underground economy of modern America, taking on odd jobs, forging fleeting friendships, and clinging to fading memories of home.
Alongside him is Sofia (Vanessa Kirby), a burned-out immigration lawyer with her own ghosts, who reluctantly agrees to help Luka when his asylum claim is denied. Their unlikely bond becomes the emotional core of the film, as both confront the question: What is a home, when no country will claim you?
Shot in handheld intimacy, with muted colors and long silences, The Immigrant feels raw and urgent. Zhao doesn’t shy away from the bureaucratic cruelty or moral complexity of migration — but she also finds humanity in small moments: a stolen phone call to Luka’s daughter, a meal shared between strangers, a rooftop sunrise over a city that doesn’t care.
This isn’t a film of easy answers — but it’s one that will stay with you long after the credits roll. The Immigrant is a powerful, unflinching portrait of survival, resilience, and the quiet defiance of those who refuse to disappear. A haunting, essential film for our time.
