People who work outside their countries, i.e., expats are at an alarming level in the middle east. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia being the highest ratio in the WORLD. Having said that, the aspirations and emotional prerogatives are incomparable with the expat situation in the rest of the world. This is a region where an expat's life is 100% rented out; emotionally and physically. The only region in the world where there is no entrance into a citizenship - once an expat, always an expat.
The film portrays "this" unique situation, being an expat, with aspirations that can never be explained, except on film.
A fair and accurate representation, well done; Abdi is believable, and the rest I guess are just there; and the pace of the screenplay is a direct portrayal of what really goes on "Beneath a sea of lights".