In a period when the subject of immigration is constantly in the headlines, this ironic fable about intolerance is very much a film for our times. It centers on Svetlana (Svetlana Yancheva, a dead ringer for Frances McDormand, as is her tough-as-nails character), a widowed, former school teacher in a blighted village in Eastern Europe where there are no longer any children for her to teach. Several of the locals nurse an unrequited passion for Svetlana, but she brusquely dismisses their advances. These rejections help fuel small-town xenophobia into overdrive when Svetlana reluctantly takes in Bamba (Michael Flemming), a Malian doctor trying to make his way to Germany. This is a humane and beautifully made film that astutely balances drama and absurdist humor with important contemporary issues. It manages the rare feat of being compassionate and provocative while also delivering striking moments that indict small-mindedness.