acanaan-25253 Reviews

Salam Neighbor (2015)

Not a ~terrible~ introduction to the Syrian refugee crisis

[6/10 · 20 April 2018]

"Salam Neighbor" is a failed attempt to show what it's like to live in a refugee camp in Syria. Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple, with the permission and support of the UN, stay in the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan, 7 miles from the Syrian border in order to inform the public about what living in a refugee camp is like. However, these men were not only uninformed on the crisis, only providing a few news snippets in the beginning to show there was a crisis but were also unaware of cultural norms and by coming from America and being backed by the UN, could never understand or accurately represent what living in a camp was like due to their own privilege. Yes, they stayed in a tent in the camp, but we never saw them actually suffer like many of those in the camp did. We never saw them waiting in line for food (except for once), they were not suffering from trauma or PTSD, and lastly and most importantly, they knew when they would get to leave and go home. One of the systematic issues that refugees face is that their displacement is treated as a temporary issue, but really is a permanent problem. Zach and Chris do cite the statistic that refugees spend an average of 17 years in a camp, but they did not accurately portray this issue in the documentary. If they had really wanted to portray what a camp was like, it would've been more useful to dedicate more of the film time to interviewing other refugees and getting their stories or spending more time with the refugees that they connected with. I will say, as much as this was not an accurate representation of camp life, it shows that Syrians as well as other people from the Middle East are not actually like how they are portrayed in the news. The documentary at the end focuses on providing dignity to refugees, allowing refugees to enter countries like to US and support countries that take in an influx of refugees, and trying to create a more permanent solution. While the documentary is not real to life for refugees, it appeals to the UN, donors, wealthy nations, and the public who are also not well-informed on the issues related to refugees but have the financial and/or political means to improve the situation for refugees. It is not a perfect narrative, but at its peak may be able to influence people to donate money and resources for the refugees, which frankly is better than nothing.

Welcome (I) (2009)

Realistic Fiction Take on the Harsh Realities of a Refugee

[7/10 · 6 April 2018]

'Vem Vindo' is a moving film that highlights the issues of immigration and refugee law, and the serious consequences that these discrepancies can have on individuals. Bilal, a 17-year-old Kurd from Iraq, travels 3 months to Calais, attempting to go to Britain to reunite with his girlfriend. However, he is met with challenges from international law, the French government, and the divided French public that ultimately puts him in a concentration camp-like situation. The French government and police force actively try to get refugees out of Calais, yet there's nowhere else for the refugees to go. Due to flawed international law, the refugees are not sent back to Iraq because it is a warzone, however, they cannot claim any status or residency in France and are not allowed to cross the border and the Channel into England. They are all essentially stuck in this town with no means to even try to create a sustainable life since they are banned from stores and cannot hold jobs. Besides being interned in a physical sense in Calais and 'The Jungle', the camp for refugees, they are also abused in a mental sense, whether or not they're in the camp. They are banned from stores, they have nowhere to bathe, and the police mimic camp guards by enforcing bans on the refugees, attacking them via means of tear gas, and encouraging the French public to dehumanize the already victimized group. The police essentially enact a camp hierarchy in Calais, as the refugees are at the bottom, and any French citizen who aids the refugees is punished as well. With that being said, the citizens in Calais are at odds with each other, as can be seen with Simon's neighbor snitching on him for helping Bilal. People have to constantly live in fear as the police have eyes everywhere and can use their power to manipulate others. The citizens who due choose to degrade and/or ignore the refugees are also a huge part of the problem as is brought to light by Marion. She calls out Simon for ignoring the issue when the refugees were barred from entering a general store to buy soap. Yet, even when Simon goes to create sustainable change for Bilal, Marion acts cowardly and tells him to stop.

While the movie highlighted the harsh realities of a camp system, it also failed to recognize many problems refugees face. Bilal gets lucky and is cared for by Simon, but most people are not so lucky. As viewers, we get to see little of "The Jungle", the camp for refugees. This is where the real damage due to lack of resources like shelter and food come into play. We see one character continue to harass Bilal for money, but besides that there is little emphasis for the urgency of resources. This movie does a great job of introducing the public to camp systems but has just scratched the surface of the true suffering refugees face.

The Way Back (I) (2010)

A Must-See Film for Anyone Remotely Interested in Camps

[10/10 · 23 March 2018]

"The Way Back" realistically portrays the somewhat subtle, yet incredibly important aspects of living in the camp system, how it affects those within the physical and mental space, and how the camp can act as a form of social molding. In the beginning of the film, we see the main men of the movie in a Gulag in Siberia that is in many ways historically accurate, leaving very few stones unturned. We get a peek at the camp hierarchy, where convicted criminals run the camp and have more power than political prisoners in the Gulag. This is illustrated when Valka, a criminal, stabs a man when he won't give Valka his sweater. Naturally, there's no consequence to Valka as he has his own blade and is allowed to use it at will. We also see that there is a differentiation between death of the body and death of the spirit. Janusz, a newcomer to the Gulag, has a spirit that others try to pray on. This is due to the fact that the camp system leads to physical deterioration, but also is dehumanizing, which can ultimately be key in whether or not someone has the motivation to survive. His mental strength is an asset that the camp system tries to break. We also see the manual labor aspect of the Gulag and how the labor could be dangerous, especially when working certain jobs like the mine. The cigarette currency was also given its own scene in the movie, illustrating how the camp can act as a microcosm for society. The emphasis on the fact that the camp extends beyond the physical structure was also a key aspect of the camp system that other films sometimes fail to recognize. It took the escapees multiple years to finally get to "freedom" in India, but the effects of starvation and paranoia from everyone was clear. The camp also had harmful effects on people who never even stepped foot in the camps themselves. Janusz's wife, who ended up testifying against him to the communist party to save her life shows how the camp acted as a form of warning for society, reminding everyone to stay within their boundaries and to not disobey the party, or else.

The best part of the film may have been the humanizing of all of the characters. We see that camp guards are human, especially when during the snowstorm, a guard threatens to shoot the American man, but ultimately stands down. We also see Valka, the criminal, who isn't "evil", but just a man trying to survive in the conditions he was brought up in. We see that Irena, the female traveler lies, and that Mr. Smith's actions led to his son's death. No one is purely good or evil.

Overall, the movie has a refreshingly realistic portrayal of camps that we rarely see in other "concentration camp" films. Its subtle nuances are accurate, the story it portrays could have actually occurred.

Come See the Paradise (1990)

Don't Come See this Disappointment

[1/10 · 23 February 2018]

"Come See the Paradise" is nothing short of an insulting representation of what occurred in Japanese internment camps during World War II. While there are some redeeming qualities, it is masked by the incredibly awkward sexual interactions between Jack and Lily and the racial insensitivity. It is incredible that anyone who reviewed the film before letting it be shown in theaters would think that making a joke about Chinese people eating dogs was appropriate for the context of the film. One of the main questions I have about the film is why Dennis Quaid's character was necessary and if the director thought Jack was necessary, why did they not include the interrogation of Jack in the movie? This would have increased the quality of Jack's character tenfold. The red scare was a huge part of the time period and to reference it without developing the topic further was very confusing. There are only two semi redeeming plot lines that occur during the film that can somewhat accurately portray what it may have been like to be in a camp: Mr. Kawamura's rapid decline in the camp and Charlie's turn towards Japanese allegiance. Mr. Kawamura's rapid loss of self-respect and sense of self is an accurate portrayal of what happened to many people within camp systems because it showed how camps systematically could break people's psyche. Charlie joining the JCL, shaving his hair, and being sent to Tulley can be seen as a representation of the transformation of self within the camp. Charlie, having lost a sense of purpose within the camp system, found a new purpose by directing his allegiance to Japan. Many people have little knowledge about Japanese internment camps and this movie had the opportunity to introduce people to camps in a way that was representative of the camp system but failed to do so. The audience doesn't even see the camp until halfway through the film and the buildup to the camp is focused mostly on the relationship between Jack and Lily. Overall, I wouldn't recommend anyonesee if this movie unless the purpose was to point out why Hollywood is unable to do movie about camps well.

As If I Am Not There (2010)

A Powerful Movie of Endurance of Reality

[9/10 · 17 February 2018]

"As If I'm Not There" realistically portrays the female-in-combat/camp narrative and the themes that come with it, including enduring the camp experience past its physical confines and a realistic victim who makes questionable choices. Juanita Wilson makes a smart choice to not end the movie when the camp is liberated, instead tracing just the beginning of Samira's hard journey of enduring and "recovering". The journey from camp to liberation in some ways replicates the camp life as it still makes people feel powerless and somewhat like animals. When Samira and the other women have to cross the river and hill to transfer to another set of busses, there is the real possibility that the women could've been shot and killed since they were still at the power of the army men with the guns. When Samira learns that she is pregnant and cannot abort the baby, the infant becomes a physical reminder of the sexual violence she experienced, and we see her struggle to decide whether or not she wants to deal with the pain of the memories of the camp or the pain of the camp plus giving up a baby. Not only that, but the idea of a "perfect victim" is squashed as we realize there may not be just good or just bad people in the world. Samira starts out as the innocent school teacher who moves from the big city to a small village who is then captured by the Serbian army and taken to a rape camp, but we see her egoism when she takes back her sexuality to attract the Captain, one of her captors. The captain himself is portrayed as not necessarily all bad, as he's still a man with a family, even if he may also be a monster. Overall, the main pull of this movie is that the audience gets to experience the realness of how a camp can function as a form of social engineering. While there is little dialogue, we feel every emotion Samira feels through her body language and facial expressions as she is thrown into the worst of situations and must endure, not necessarily overcome. Especially for people who know little about the Balkans in the 1990s or about camps in general, this is a great introduction to the harsh realities people faced and continue to face today. Especially since the lives of women during and post-war are rarely mentioned, this is a powerful piece that deserves more recognition for what it successfully portrays.

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Life Isn't Always Beautiful

[7/10 · 4 February 2018]

"Life is Beautiful" can be described as somewhat of an "optimistic" Holocaust film, if there is such a thing, but brings a unique representation of life in the concentration camp. From a historical perspective, there are certainly inaccuracies in terms of dates and certain facts like the tattooed number. However, the movie does a good job of highlighting the fact that people who lived in concentration camps were not just a mass crowd of millions. Each person had an individual story and their individuality was something that the Nazis attempted to take in order to dehumanize them, but couldn't necessarily do so. In this way, the movie begins to make viewers better understand the effect of the Holocaust by delving into the story of one family and showing the pain and suffering they want through. Someone can read that millions of people died in the Holocaust, but this movie starts to explore the emotion behind those millions of people. This makes the experience easier to understand, something that textbooks fail to do.

My main critique of this film is the characterization of Guido. The two main characteristics of him are that he is Jewish and a comedian. Yet both of these tropes are played up and limit the depth of his characterization and the experience of a concentration camp. Pre-concentration camp, he was hustling, stealing hats, and a fast talker. These stereotypically Jewish traits are played up, yet part of combating racial politics is recognizing that belonging to a group does not mean that one possesses every stereotypical trait about that group. It's saddening to see that aspect of racial politics being ignored in a film about the Holocaust. Also, both outside and inside of the camp, Guido is always upbeat, making up antics, and his smile and innovation never falters. Even when he was about to be shot, his facial expression never changed and he kept up his façade for his son until the end. While I can understand Joshua idolizing his father, the consistent positivity within a concentration just isn't realistic. When different problems arise within the camp, Guido never falters, not even once, to keep a consistent smile and pull another solution out of brain without a thought. Like I said earlier, I appreciate the sentiment of creating a story about the Holocaust that isn't all sad, as people in concentration camps did try to go on with their lives within the camp system. However, that doesn't mean living in a concentration camp was easy, let alone pretending it was all a game.

I still encourage people to watch this movie, but watch with a careful eye and focus on the emotion of the characters, not the plot or facts about concentration camps.