“If Strawberries proves anything, it is that Europe’s prosperity is built on the backs of the immigrants it so forcefully tries to keep out.”

Prosperity comes at a cost, just usually not at the cost of the person that prospers. Each year, seasonal migrants come to work in Europe’s fields picking fruits and vegetables. Some do it because the pay is better than what they can get at home, some because they have dreams of staying and building a better future. All are underpaid and often mistreated, having to work long hours under dire conditions. These abuses are the subject of Moroccan director Laïla Marrakchi’s third feature-length film Strawberries, which holds up a mirror to what will be primarily a Western audience and shows that this sort of exploitation is hard to root out. A strong character drama that tackles an important subject, and with an excellent performance at its center, Strawberries falters sometimes in its writing, but serves well as an honest look at the people that make your life better.

Aiming to make money for a goal that will only be revealed later (too late) in the film, Hasna (Nisrin Erradi) steps on the ferry from Morocco to Spain, where she will be put to work with other Moroccan women picking strawberries. At first the gig doesn’t seem so bad. Sure, the barracks are a bit cramped, but there is camaraderie and a sense of sisterhood among the women. The issues start when Hasna is docked pay because she allegedly took too long on bathroom breaks. And more serious trouble is afoot under Southern Spain’s impossibly blue skies.

When Hasna and co-worker Meriem (Hajar Graigaa) are confronted in the showers by their boss Iván (Paco Mora), he tells Hasna to leave. Despite Meriem’s fear being palpable, Hasna leaves anyway. A distance forms between Meriem and the rest of the women, even more so when her job changes from picking strawberries to cleaning Iván’s home, which is a cover for him abusing her. This triggers a chain of events that connects Hasna to solicitor Pilar (the always reliable Itsaso Arana), who tries to help Hasna and her co-workers fight for better working conditions and an end to both labor and sexual abuse.

Strawberries‘ main selling point is its character work, and in Erradi it finds a perfect embodiment for the no-nonsense, slightly volatile character of Hasna. A former taekwondo champion, Hasna is supposed to be bigger and stronger than her co-workers, and while her baggy clothes go some way to suggest a bulkier frame, it’s Erradi’s body language that does the heavy lifting, no pun intended. But it’s what is in her face that remains most important, and the actress delivers on all fronts, from the quick-to-anger to the occasionally fragile Hasna. When she delivers a fiery speech in the film’s conclusion, Erradi seals the deal: it’s a stunning performance. The women around her are no slouches either, from Graigaa as Meriem, to Hind Braik as a young girl hoping to ensnare a Spanish man and secure her future that way, with Itsaso Arana and Fatima Attif adding fine work in less demanding roles.

Marrakchi and co-writer Delphine Agut’s screenplay is not always up to par with the performances, falling into the exposition trap when they feel they have to underline the plight of migrant workers. When explaining the bad employment conditions and pay, adding a line like “No Spaniard accepts this work” is perhaps the most succinct way to make a point to an audience that doesn’t think too deeply about these issues, but being so on-the-nose forces the characters to become a mouthpiece for the writers in an inorganic way. In terms of plot there are some puzzling issues as well. Hasna notices (but ignores) Meriem’s fear of being left alone with Iván, yet never seems to put two and two together and never mentions the incident to Pilar or in court. Similarly, when Hasna’s credibility as a witness comes into question late in the investigation, a big reveal that was never clearly hinted at comes off more as the writers needing an extra hurdle for Hasna’s arc than a piece of story logic. Even though these are relatively minor issues, they prevent Strawberries from hitting very far above the batting average of the genre. Marrakchi’s direction is solid, even inspired at times, but the film mostly works because of Erradi and the cast around her, and the importance of the subject matter. Because if Strawberries proves anything, it is that Europe’s prosperity is built on the backs of the immigrants it so forcefully tries to keep out.