Stowaway (2021)
in Movies ·
The technicalities and any resulting logical inconsistencies are essentially irrelevant here, because the entire film functions as an allegory for illegal immigration—a theme practically shouted at you by the title itself. In this specific narrative, the Stowaway is a Black man who finds himself on the vessel illegally, severely injured and in desperate need of medical attention. We eventually learn he has no clear memory of how he boarded, that he was raised under harrowing circumstances involving fire burns and the loss of his parents, and that he is the sole provider for his younger sister. While the crew members are initially skeptical (running checks to see if he poses a threat), they ultimately extend him kindness and aid, deciding he isn't there by choice or malicious intent, but simply ended up there by circumstance. Once he recovers, the immigrant expresses his gratitude to the crew, emphasizing that he doesn't want to be a burden and is a quick learner. Even though the engineer makes it clear there isn't a role for him on the ship, the biologist takes pity on him and assigns him some data entry—essentially a menial job. The parallel to migrants is almost too heavy-handed to miss. Given the level of "woke" tropes present—specifically the now-standardized role reversals where women hold all the agency (one is the pilot and commander, another is the strong, proactive one willing to sacrifice herself for the group, while the men are portrayed as weak or incompetent, like the biologist who can't even handle climbing), one might assume the director was taking a pro-immigrant stance. However, the film actually delivers a potent anti-immigrant message, albeit perhaps unintentionally. From the moment he appears, the migrant becomes the catalyst for every crisis. First, he damages the oxygen supply/scrubber; then, he incapacitates the female pilot when he falls on her arm; subsequently, the biologist loses the algae essential for his research while searching for alternative oxygen sources; and finally, the doctor sacrifices herself for him. In short, the mere presence of the migrant puts the crew in mortal danger and drains their limited resources, all while he contributes almost nothing despite his best intentions. The epilogue tells the story: the pilot is sidelined, one scientist has lost his research materials, another is dead, and the mission is a total failure. Sure, the immigrant is saved, but you have to ask yourself: at what cost?