drama - Page 14 of 26

Omar

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Omar reminded me of a Shakesperian-esque epic. He fights for love and carries the patriotism of Palestine, but for what? Think of a Mexican drug-war thriller like Heli, Miss Bala, or even a film like Zero Dark Thirty shot from the other side and you will be getting close to the kind of film that Omar is. There’s no drugs in Omar, but there is one man fighting for normality whilst dealing with the expectation that he must fight for his people.

Why Watch Omar?

Learn a little bit about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian.
Romantic love vs. Patriotism – which would you choose?
It was nominated for an Academy Award!
It was even screened at the United Nations = must be important!

The Breakdown

Omar starts with a man standing by a large concrete wall watching cars pass by. As soon as the cars on the road disappear he climbs up a long rope attached to the concrete wall. As he reaches the top gun shots fly by him and he drops down quickly on the other side. He made it but his hands are bloodied from the rope burns. He disappears into the streets to dodge any potential chasers.

The tension in Omar is always present. You never know when Omar is going to be chased. He never has complete freedom as the Israeli police are always watching his and everybody else’s actions. Right from the start, the great big West Bank Wall obstructs his freedom of passage from the place he lives to where his girlfriend goes to school. Later in the film, as the pressure mounts on Omar, he struggles to actually climb the wall – showing the extra limits on the already limited freedom he already had. This wall, and Omar’s relation to it, symbolise the oppression of Omar and the Palestinian people.

Another thing to watch out for are the billboards and messages that appear in the background of some of the scenes. One of the billboards has a happy looking commercial for something or other with the words ‘Planting Hope’. Other billboards carry similar positive messages which the director has planted in the background to dramatically contrast with the oppressed Palestinians. The Israeli billboards mark the difference between what the Israelis can do and what the Palestinians cannot. Just like the Wall, they are symbols of the lack of freedom for the Palestinian people.

This is an important film for everyone to watch – plus it’s available on Netflix. So, what are you waiting for? Watch this one now!

The Wounded Angel

The Wounded Angel Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Image result for the wounded angel baigazin You may have seen films from China and Europe, and even the Middle East, but have you seen a film from Kazakhstan? Here’s your chance to see something new. This is an excellent portrayal of Kazakhstan in the mid-90s. A country experiencing an economic and emotional depression after the split of the Soviet Union. Find out what life was like growing up in a remote town in Kazakhstan.

Why Watch The Wounded Angel?

To see a film from Kazakhstan!
Experience life in mid-90s Kazakhstan after the collapse of the U.S.S.R.
You like coming-of-age stories
See Kazakh singing in traditional dress and a currency with 3 Tenge notes

The Breakdown

“After the collapse of the USSR, in an effort to preserve the economy, the government cut off electric power every evening”

The film starts with 13 year old Zharas, a young boy living in a remote town in Kazakhstan. He pokes a hole in the top of an egg shell and drinks its contents raw while standing topless in a bare room. He starts shadow boxing before sitting down to make a knuckleduster out of molten metal and a simple mould. Next, he hops onto a train and smokes a cigarette by the door as the train moves through barren landscape.

The Wounded Angel, looks at four 13 year old Kazakh boys living in the same Kazakh town in the middle of a barren landscape. There is an emotional depression. None of the adults ever smile, grimace, or frown. Their permanently expressionless faces have rubbed off on their children who have grown up without emotion. As a result, without emotion, their childhood cannot exist, and they ae forced to become adults.

The fixed camera shots do not hint any change either. The lack of camera movement conveys stillness, therefore mirroring the lack of progress on film (the electricity cuts out, there is no employment, and no emotion).

Look out for the ‘through-the-window-frame’ (or keyhole) shots that appear in each of the four stories. Each one (apart from Toads) shows the character standing within a derelict house by an empty window frame. Each window is a window showing their fate:

Zharas: his father walks away, but he runs after him after finishing his cigarette
Chick: shows his friends beating up the two kids he didn’t want to fight
Toad: he climbs through a hole in the wall and meets a group of kids
Aslan: shows a half dead tree

Conclusion

The Wounded Angel is a fantastic depiction of a country in an emotional depression. This is a realist coming-of-age story that contrasts heavily with the nostalgic coming-of-age films that you are used to. Watch this if you are interested in watching something from the great Eurasian Steppe.

Snowden

Watch Snowden after watching The Lives of Others

Film Difficulty Ranking: 1

This film is a perfect companion to The Lives of Others (from Germany). It reveals that invasive state security is not an outdated institution confined to the old Soviet-bloc, but something that still happens today. Will whistle-blower Edward Snowden be celebrated in decades to come for his bravery or will he continue to be victimised?

Why Watch Snowden?

You’re a fan of 1984
You have heard of Edward Snowden but don’t know enough about him to keep a debate going
Do you want freedom or security? Watch this film to find out.
For a dramatized and Hollywood-friendly version of Citizenfour

Anyway, as this is not a foreign or indie film, I’m not going to write another small essay. But, as it’s relevant to one of the other films I have recommended on this site, I’ve included it here in case you want to follow up your interest! Plus it is a good film with a good insight into one of the most controversial figures in politics.

Violence (Colombia)

Violence Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Image result for violencia forero You may have seen the great Netflix show Narcos and believe that you know everything about violence in Colombia. However, to truly experience violence in Colombia, you should watch the aptly named Violence. The film will take you to three parts of Colombia where violence exists. It will introduce you to it’s perpetrators and victims without revealing who they are or to which armed group they belong. Ultimately everyone is part of the violence in Colombia.

Why Watch Violence?

Experience some of the violent conflicts carried out in Colombia.
See the diversity of the Colombian landscape: the jungle, the city, and a small town in the country.
Recognise that all the characters are other beings of flesh and blood – perhaps the key to stop violence.
Learn how to make a violent movie without showing any violence!

The Breakdown

Violence starts in darkness. The only thing you can perceive is the sound of the jungle: the insects, birds, and cracking twigs. Slowly the outlines of plants and trees emerge from the darkness before the camera moves along the ground. The camera moves to the left and reveals a chain tied to a tree. The other end is tied around the neck of a man asleep on the jungle floor. He has blemishes and bug bite marks all over his body.

As daylight emerges, the camera stays in a close-up of the prisoner. All we can see is the prisoner, and some figures dressed in camo walking behind him, out of focus. The camera is restricted to where the prisoner can go, and it never ventures further than the limits of the prisoner’s chain. This shows us the lack of freedom that the prisoner has. We do not venture outside of where he is allowed to go, and everything outside that range is out-of-focus. We experience his captivity.

Whilst part one happens in the jungle, part two occurs in a Colombian city, and part three in the country. Firstly, the three locations showcase the diversity of the Colombian landscape. Secondly, the diversity of the locations show that violence is present everywhere (and not just Colombia). Even though we don’t directly see violence, we can tell it has occurred or will occur. Violence is evident in the character’s uniforms, the character’s actions, the words spoken, and the character’s faces.

Conclusion

Jorge Forero’s film shows the existence of violence of Colombia without showing the causes of it or offering a solution. Instead Ferero’s goal, as explained here (where you can also watch the film for a fee) is to make us recognise every character as human beings of flesh and blood. In doing this, we might just make it harder for another to commit violence against us.

Eyes Wide Open (Israel)

Eyes Wide Open Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Do you know much about the Hassidic Jews of Israel? Do you know how restrictive religion and conservative societies can be? Watch Eyes Wide Open to learn how religion can repress your sexuality and turn you into an outcast. Check out the melodramatic and revealing trailer below if you’re not convinced.

Why Watch Eyes Wide Open?

To learn a bit about the Orthodox Jewish religion
For a great companion to the Israel-Palestine conflict shown in Omar and Ajami. In this film you will see a different side of Israel.
Find out how difficult it can be for religious gay people
For the two main actors who manage to so much with so few words

The Breakdown

A man tries to open a sliding door to a shop as the rain pours down on him. He gives up trying to unlock the padlock with his key and grabs a rock to break the lock. After a few throws, the lock falls off. He carefully peels off a poster from the door (a notice of death) and enters the shop.

A tracking shot of the floor shows an overturned chair. The man carefully folds up the poster and puts it to the side. We can deduce who has died from the clues the director leaves in the opening sequence. The way the man carefully folds the poster notice of death means that it must be someone close to the man. And the fact he has a key shows that it is probably a relative. So when the man finds a picture of a young boy and an older man sitting outside the shop he has entered we can deduce it is an old picture of him and his father.

In this film, you need to pay attention to the film’s subtleties. The two main characters do not share much dialogue. Instead they communicate in short, clear sentences. However, pay attention to the way they say things, as this reveals more than what they say. Their short and unemotional conversation reveals their repressed emotions. The strict religious society they are a part of prevents them from expressing their sexuality.

Conclusion

Eyes Wide Open is beautifully filmed and acted. It will also open your eyes to the difficulty of living as part of a strict religious society as a gay person. You may have witnessed the difficulty of living within a strict religious society in Sand Storm or Asmaa. But unfortunately the plight of gay people in strict religious communities is rarely shown. Eyes Wide Open is one of these rare films that is also beautifully filmed.