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Salam Neighbor (2015)
Informative and engaging look into a forgotten people
Salam Neighbor is a documentary that lacks in some aspects, however, overall thrives in depicting its message of caring for and noticing refugee populations. One feature the film depicted quite well was the refugee economy. These microeconomies are a very common feature within refugee camps around the world, and it was prominently featured within this film. The grasp of this economy, however, is what really stuck to me. This economy, filled only with refugees, was worth multiple millions of dollars and took up whole streets like a true market. What was truly surprising was that even smart phones and other luxury items were being sold to this crowd of people, often without a steady income or any income at all. By having refugees owning shops, buying real world goods, and trading with each other, these Syrians begin to rebuild an identity that was lost in the war. This film created an emphasis on the importance of holding a personal identity as a way of maintaining one's life. It can be easy to become depressed and lose hope within these camps, especially if you begin to identify yourself as a simple refugee receiving handouts. But this film depicted an active group of refugees, creating meaning within their existences within the camps. The example they emphasized was the women who created her own jewelry from the plastic bags within the camp. By seeing the garbage laying around the camp, it can be easy to think that the camp is a wasteland. However, she made the most of her situation and turned the land into art, and even profit. The film did a great job in this aspect, but it did lack in others. There was very little emphasis on some of the negative aspects within the camp and within the refugees themselves. They discussed some of the challenges within the camp, and the struggle for wealth and identity, but they only depicted refugees who were able to overcome these. For instance, they mentioned that they were not able to stay the night due to crime within the camp. This seems like a huge issue, but it was not discussed. Additionally, the amount of unemployment in the refugee camp is staggering, but again, we only saw refugees who were active, had jobs, and supporting their families. By ignoring these aspects of life, it made the camp appear to be a place where all refugees are ideal, but this is certainly not the case. The reason for ignoring this is likely to maintain their message of depicting a positive image of refugees for their audience, however, it does not represent a whole truth of the picture.
Welcome (2009)
Feel-good film that ignores reality
Welcome is a depiction of the harsh experience for many refuges residing in Europe. The film illustrates the struggle of lack of jobs, no permanent shelters, being ignored by society, and having the constant desire to better their own situations. Director Philippe Lioret actively tries to address these concerns that refugees face, however, tends to stretch himself thin by overly focusing on the main French character Simon Calmat. This film is meant to address the common issue: that people are quick to dismiss issues, and are slow to actually take action. Lioret answers this very effectively, having Simon take action in his life regarding the abuse of refugees. Seeing someone take action was heartwarming, especially to see the difference one person can make on the life of a refugee. It inspires others to do the same, not only in regard to the refugee crisis, but in all situations. The film also does an excellent job at bluntly portraying France's hostile attitude towards refugees. One particular moment that stood out was the neighbor attempting to explain why refugees are bad, claiming "they have lice, they steal..." This excuse, likely a common one, is incredibly petty, yet the French government embraces and encourages these attitudes to grow. Where this film lacked is the actual depiction of refugee life. The film selected a unique case where the protagonist gets lucky and befriends a Frenchman willing to care for him. This is not the situation most of the time. Hundreds of other refugees within France suffer much more unfortunate situations, and this was largely not shown. The massive refugee prison, The Jungle, barely made an appearance, the issue of shelter and sustainable food was ignored, and fear of violence from French and other refugees was only lightly touched on. This type of depiction actually makes it appear that refugees largely do not suffer greatly. Although it likely makes for a more feel-good movie, by emphasizing the exception to the case, the director alters the harsh reality of the life of a refugee.
The Way Back (2010)
Fun, but ultimately limited
The Way Back, directed by Peter Weir, tells the story of several Siberian gulag inmates and their escape to freedom. This film does a good job at what it was meant to do: entertain. Being able to follow the characters through their treacherous journey was exciting to watch, and sad to see so many likeable people die. In terms of an educational film on the horrors of the gulag, it did a very good job, though it was quite brief in comparison to the rest of the movie.
The very first scene portrayed the feelings that many Russians felt upon being interned. The scene used a lot of minimalism, limiting the screen to 3 wide shots, one for each character. It felt almost disorienting for the audience. We have no perception of who these characters are, why this man is being accused, why his wife is seemingly betraying him, the sheer callousness of the guard as he refers to them as "accused" and "witness". This confusion was also felt by many inmates, as they were often interned for false, almost arbitrary reasons. The scenes within the camp were the highlight of the film as they were able to tell so much about life within these camps, with so little time spent there. Some noticeable sections that were displayed were the trade micro-economy that existed within these camps, demonstrated by the exchanges of cigarettes, meats, and clothing; the existence of a hierarchy ruled by the criminal class; and the presence of various prisoners forming groups based off of reason for internment, whether it was criminals or political internees. The cinematography was also especially strong within the camps. The extreme wide shots of the neighboring mountains truly portrayed the expanse and isolation of this camp. The fences were not the jail, the environment was. The shots demonstrated the impossibility of escape, and the hopelessness that the inmates felt. Inside of the mine was another highlight. The stage presence of smoke, falling rocks, and orange filters created a sense of exhaustion, claustrophobia, and disease, all of which were truly present in the mines. Working there was essentially a death sentence, and this concept was heavily felt. One noticeable flaw in the film was the lack of starvation within the inmates and those travelling. The makeup was well done and believable, but in terms of physicality, everyone looked pretty well fed. There was one scene where a man was begging for food, but that was the extent to which the hunger was shown. Overall though, this film was strongest in the beginning, but still fun to watch throughout.
Come See the Paradise (1990)
A Hollywood Depiction of Life Changing Events
Come See the Paradise is a Hollywood dramatized historical film. It incorporates aspects of historical facts, but alters it greatly in order to make it more relatable to the average American. What does that mean in terms of the film? Well there must be a straight, white male lead because who can relate to Japanese Americans? This creates a noticeable flaw in the film as a whole. Dennis Quaid's character felt unnecessary, stereotypical, largely one-dimensional, and empowered by an overly noticeable sexual energy. Additionally, for a hefty film time of two hours and eighteen minutes, it felt as though only ~thirty of those minutes were spent inside the internment camp itself. It wasted so much time attempting to humanize these characters, and create backgrounds for them that it became confusing as to what type of movie we were watching. Although I appreciate the dedication for attempting to flesh out these characters more, most of this development could have been taken place within a camp setting. I did appreciate the depiction of portraying an interracial couple during a very racist time period. It was interesting to see how the Japanese family reacted to the situation, and seeing the expectation that Japanese women had in terms of their love life. It would be more important and realistic though to portray how society reacted to this couple. In 1940s California, people would not be accepting of a Japanese-American couple. This was a time where Japanese, or even other East Asian immigrants who appeared Japanese, were at times assaulted on the streets. The film touched on this with the racist Santa Claus, but this even had issues with it. Because of the film only depicted the racism through this one scene, it appears as though only a few Santas were racist, when in reality it would have been a majority of Santas! In reality, this couple would struggle to live their lives due to societal racism. They would be unable to eat at restaurants without complaint, see films, raise their daughter, etc. This was not depicted in the film. In fact, the film dedicated more time displaying how the Japanese family disapproved of the couple compared to society, that it made it seem that Japanese were more racist towards Americans, than Americans towards Japanese! This is an inaccurate depiction that severely hurt the films credibility.
As If I Am Not There (2010)
A beautifully filmed movie which tells of a brutal reality
As If I Am Not There is a film that explores a very harsh reality through one woman's experience in a camp for Bosniak Muslim women. The film greatly succeeds in allowing the audience to better understand and feel the same emotions that these women felt. The director, Juanita Wilson, utilizes her cinematographer and her editor wonderfully as the shots primarily take the place for the almost haunting lack of dialogue. The film features primarily close ups and medium shots of small, tight interiors. When there is an occasional long shot, the background is frequently blurred, especially blurring out the soldiers. This simulates how the protagonist, Samira, felt during her time. The cinematography creates a feeling of anxiety, unawareness, and tension. These women had no concept of the outside world. These camps temporarily became their world. All they knew was what surrounded them. There was no available information about the war, nor how long they would reside there. Any information they could obtain was through rumors that oftentimes proved false. There is a scene in particular that I would like to highlight. In the beginning of the film, there is a long, extended shot of the women reacting to the men being executed in their village. The director deliberately chose to show each and every male walking out of the building, as the women watched through the window. This scene depicting the women's reactions lasted through the entirety of the men being killed. Every bullet was heard, and the scene was not finished until every male had died from each bullet. In any other film, the director or editor would have chosen to cut early as we understand what is happening, and forcing the audience to wait through this entire sequence is unnecessary and repetitive. But Wilson has a message here. That every single bullet took an individual life. We see the wives and mothers react to their husbands and sons being killed, and yes, it is emotional. But knowing that every gunshot heard took a life is greatly impactful. Not showing the execution further allows the audience to be placed within the women's experience. The gunshots heard last for a very long time with great lengths of time between sets of gunshots. These pauses create a slimmer of hope for both the audience and the women that perhaps their loved ones made it out alive by running or resisting. But by the end of the sounds, it is clear that they are all dead. The film features many shots such as this that, although small, create a great impact on placing the audience within the experience itself.
La vita è bella (1997)
A unique take on tragedy
Life is Beautiful combines the innocence and optimism of a child with the pure tragedy and despair of the Holocaust, creating a unique and controversial feeling of bittersweet happiness. This film brought normalcy to the events experienced by millions in very subtle ways. One prime example is having Guido attend the children's class. The main purpose of the scene was to have the protagonist surprise Dora, as he does throughout the movie. At the same time, we gain an insightful, and historically accurate depiction of how the youth were brainwashed into thinking that Aryan race is superior. The director does this in a way so that it feels as though this behavior is normal. He presents it, initially, as a simple school speaker for kids, but we soon see it is more heinous than that. Another scene which stands out to me in particular is when Guido confronts Dottor Lessing inside the camp. The director gives us the expectation that this man is good and will save him, but only disappointing us greatly by having Lessing entirely ignoring his situation. This is a great representation of the social schizophrenia that many guards and workers carried while inside camps. These men and women separated their private lives entirely from their public lives, resulting in good people who do terrible things. In this scene, Lessing ignores Guido's circumstances, and treats him as if he is still a part of his own personal life. This may seem as though Lessing suffers from some mental disorder where he is desensitized to all things, however, this is very normal. The one major flaw I had with this film was the ending. The film reunites the child with the mother and they live happily ever after. Although the unification of a mother and child of that age after the Holocaust is incredibly unlikely, it is not the flaw with it. Life was not so easy for survivors of the genocide. They were forced back into traditional society with incredibly minor buffers (six months of welfare cash), and very little emotional support from the community as a whole. Life is not happily ever after. It is the beginning of a new challenge that thousands must face.