November 29th 2024
Green Border
Blitz (streaming on Apple)
Only two films this week, but both very worthy, and one scoring my rare "unmissable"!
Green Border
Dir: Agnieszka Holland
Length: 148 mins
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© Sharmill - so timely, so heart wrenching,
simply wonderful. |
So powerfully authentic it feels almost like a documentary, the latest film from 78-year-old Holland is as strong a condemnation of the treatment of refugees as you could ever get. Keeping it brief in line with my "fiveminutefilm" concept is no easy task with this magnificent, unmissable film. The opening segment deludes us into a sense of optimism: a planeload of refugees lands in Belarus, having been told from there it will be a seamless entry into the EU. But shortly after being picked up by people they believe are their salvation, they are dropped in an area of forest between Poland and Belarus, known as the Green Border. From there they are shunted back and forth between the two countries, often experiencing brutality at the hands of Polish border guards, and trying desperately to simply survive, hoping they can fnd a way out of this nightmare. (The politics behind all this are too involved to go into - google it!) The film takes part in five "chapters" and focuses on different players in this human tragedy. Syrian father Bashir (Jalal Altawil), wife Amina (Dalia Naous), along with their children and the grandfather bring the film's focus sharply onto a family we can feel deeply for and relate to. They befriend an Afghani teacher Leila (Behi Atai), who is a selfless and caring human being. Then we see things from the perspective of the guards, who have been brainwashed by their government into seeing the refugees as an almost sub-human threat. Their horrific treatment, even of pregnant women, seems to support this. One man Jan (Tomasz Wlosok) risks his job by showing compassion. Then we see the drama and trauma from the viewpoint of activists, struggling to help out where they can, with a focus on Polish psychologist Julia (Maja Ostaszewska). Holland shoots in startling black and white, and many of the actors are real refugees, adding to the authenticity. The sense of urgency, fear and hopelessness infuses so many of the scenes, that it is hard to watch at times, and yet this is one of the year's most important films, as it reinforces the need for basic human decency and compassion, and highlights the devastation caused when politicians use human beings as political footballs. It is heart-wrenching vital viewing, and so timely with everything going on in the world today. The film has won 23 prestigious awards. 5- unmissable
Blitz
Dir: Steve McQueen
Length: 120 mins
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© Apple TV+ - a mother desperately searches for
her missing child, amid war-torn London |
London in 1940 is a dangerous place. The Germans are bombing it to smithereens. The British try valiantly to get on with their lives, taking shelter in the Underground when necessary, and many women work in munitions factories for the war effort. Single mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) decides to send her nine-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan), along with many other children, to the countryside where they will be safer. But he is determined to return to his mother, and when she hears he has disappeared from the train transporting the children, she begins a frantic search for him. Although there is a certain sense of conventionality about the narrative, this is a terrific watch with much to recommend it. The recreation of London under attack is disturbingly authentic, with tense scenes of falling bombs and firefighters desperately trying to save lives and buildings. The scenes of the women evoke the many war stories I grew up hearing, as do scenes set in the air-raid shelters and in the dance-halls where jitterbug and big band music ruled. There's another underlying strong thread to the plot and that is racism; George's father was black, and George is constantly subject to racial villification from other kids and adults. The dark side of exploitation - reprehensible people looting valuables from bombed homes and dead bodies - also comes under scrutiny. At heart though, it is a very lovely story of courage, and the love between mother and son. Ronan shines in her role, as does Heffernan.4 - highly recommended
