Diop’s exceptional observational documentary about a French GP whose clinic is dedicated to serving refugees has tremendous emotional power, alongside its sobering insights on the vulnerability of the human condition.

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We have been to the GP many times in our lives—a cough here, a cold there.  Sitting in the doctor’s room, we describe our illness, however mild sometimes. 

We then get our meds and before we leave, the clinic staff will tell us to get well soon.  And indeed, we will get well.  The refugees in France, however, don’t share our experiences. 

In Alice Diop’s sophomore feature, On Call (or La permanence), we become observers as her largely static camera centres on this most compassionate of French GPs, whose clinic is dedicated to serving the poor and ailing folks who have fled from their war-torn countries. 

The camera’s gaze lingers on each person who visits the clinic, some barely speaking English, let alone French. Their bodies tell of the trauma and suffering they have endured—pain in the head, the inability to sleep, depression, etc. 

“I’ll give you something to ease the pain.”

Their eyes, however, reveal another kind of pain: their present predicament.  With no jobs and having left their family behind, many of these refugees rely on the assistance of social workers and welfare, not least the countless months they have to wait to get certain paperwork approved for state benefits. 

A documentary of such modest aims yet yielding such tremendous emotional power, On Call shows us the consequences of war and politics on the most vulnerable of people: the common man. 

Very tellingly, most if not all of these refugees come from Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with their darker skins a contrast against an environment of white men and women in white coats. 

Despite continuing to endure both physical and psychological pain, the smiles of these refugees when they get their meds or a doctor’s certificate that might help them to overcome bureaucratic inefficiency is worth all the hard work put in by these healthcare professionals. 

It has been seven years since Diop’s film; I can only hope that everyone has gotten well.

Grade: A-

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Trailer: