This article interrogates a general tendency in migration film studies to read vulnerable migrant characters vis-à-vis national and transnational power hierarchies. It analyzes Frieder Schlaich’s 1999 film Otomo, which reconstructs the story of a Cameroonian asylum seeker in Germany, to show that (re)centering the refugee character and de-emphasizing national parameters of citizenship and belonging reveal subtle personal complexities and crucial moments of solidarity among marginalized people. Through the lens of minor transnational modes of analysis, the article argues for a more mindful scholarly engagement with fictional migrant characters as members of transnational communities and political actors rather than faceless, nameless, and victimized on-screen bodies.

中文翻译：

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“了解他们的灵魂需要时间”：弗里德·施莱希（Frieder Schlaich）的《大友》（Otomo）（1999）中的庇护人性和跨国团结

本文探讨了移民电影研究的一种普遍趋势，即相对于国家和跨国权力等级制度，阅读易受伤害的移民人物。它分析了弗里德里希·施莱希（Frieder Schlaich）1999年的电影《大友》（Otomo），该电影重塑了一个喀麦隆寻求庇护者的故事，以表明（重新）集中难民的性格，并不再强调公民身份和归属的国家参数，这揭示了个人之间的微妙复杂性和关键时刻被边缘化的人。通过次要的跨国分析模式的视角，文章主张与虚构的移民人物（作为跨国社区和政治行为者）而非虚假，无名和受害的屏幕上的肢体更加学术上的交往。