Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
Authentic tale of refugees, Jul 18 2004
This film tells the story of Jamal (Jamal Udin Torabi) and Enayat (Enayatullah), two young men who attempt the underground journey from a refugee camp in Afghanistan to London. Both characters are played by real refugees, non-actors who actually lived the type of story portrayed here. Director Michael Winterbottom followed the route taken by his protagonists, using guerilla filmmaking techniques such as filming in the actual locations, reportedly recording people, at times, when they did not know that they were being filmed. Night scenes were shot with night vision equipment and appear to show confrontations with actual border guards; the black-and-white photography of these sequences, in which the characters eyes seem to glow in the dark, takes on a nightmarish quality. Some may find the film slow--it does not develop its characters in a traditional way through scenes and dialogue, but shows them to show their qualities through the tenacity and courage that they display during their trip. The constant motion and eerie musical score contribute to a hypnotic, trance-like feel that imbues its characters with a sense of being entirely consumed with their journey from a dismal past into an uncertain, frightening future. The scene in a shipping container is particularly harrowing. The only sour note comes at the very beginning; Winterbottom mentions US responsibility for the plight of many Afghan refugees without acknowledging the complicity of the Taliban as well. Nevertheless, this is not an overtly political film, but rather a very human and intimate one about the terrible risks people are willing to take to get to a land of opportunity.
|
|
|
Eldorado Within Reach For The Lucky Few, April 25 2004
Aguirre, the egomaniac and mad conquistador embarked on a harsh and dangerous journey through the dark, hostile and uninviting jungles of Peru to look for his Eldorado, the city of gold.
In our time, and more realistically, determined and courageous people embark on a similarly harsh journey through land and sea to find their Eldorado,the land of opportunities.
In This World,the underrated masterpiece of British director Michael Winterbottom (Butterfly Kiss, Jude,The Claim 24 Hour Party People)is a film that goes with two young men on such a journey, from the Afghan refugee camps of Peshawar in Pakistan to London.
What is striking about this movie first of all is the fact that it is the first feature that follows the journey of illegal immigrants from start to finish. We have seen some very good examples of films that deal with the plight and conditions of refugees in various countries,like Majidi's Baran, Frears's Dirty Pretty Things, or Kechiche's La Faute A Voltaire, but never had a director approached this highly sensitive issue with such intimacy,and detail before:
He takes the viewer along this journey, step by difficult and dangerous step.
Moreover,the issue of illegal immigration has occupied many a headline in the media recently leading to a near hysteria of anxiety and fear about the coming 'flood' to Europe. While undoubtedly there is a problem, Winterbottom manages with his film to be the 'other voice', the one of compassion, sympathy and understanding,putting names,stories and faces to these people: an achievement he should be praised for.
The use of digital camera, some grainy shots and fast editing, all add a gritty realism, while the soft focus and beautiful scenery add a dreamy atmosphere that somehow reflect the dream that drives these people.
I was surprised how quickly I connected and sympathized with our two heroes, Jamal Udin Torab,and Enayatullah, themselves total amateurs and refugees (it reminded me of Iranian directors and how they have excelled in using complete amateurs with stunning results),and I anxiously followed them, and hoped for their safe arrival!! This is all due to the wonderful direction of Winterbottom.
There are some very powerful scenes,and the one inside the truck was truly haunting!!
We take so much for granted unfortunately, and most are lucky to associate the word 'journey' with a holiday, but there are others in this world, for whom this word means the difference between desolation and hope,and even life and death ,one they are willing to take no matter how high the cost is.
I am only grateful that Michael Winterbottom has taken that same journey with his camera, and with an eye that is totally involved and compassionate invited me in the safety of my own home to embark on it too..Do Not Miss It!
|
|
|
Compelling Guerilla Film-Making, April 11 2004
Just saw Michael Winterbottom's compelling new movie In this World. In it, two young Afghani men Enayat and Jamal attempt to make it from Peshawar, Pakistan to London, England via a human smuggling operation. It's a rigously realistic portrayal, essentially a fictional documentary, cinema verite shot in digital video. Winterbottom packs a lot in as Enayat and Jamal pass through a dizzying array of cities and cultures on their way towards . . . tragedy. The little help they receive along the way, they receive warily, wisely unsure whether to trust any who offer it. The films opens with some facts: >The United States spent almost 8 billion bombing the Taliban in Afghanistan
>Many Afghanis moved to Peshawar to avoid the bombing--and, I'm sure, because many were made homeless
>There are 14 million refugees in the world
>1 million of them are in Peshawar Providing this already stunning movie with even more impact: the character of Jamal is portrayed by a young Afghani named Jamal who really made the journey himself. Winterbottom and his crew took him back to Peshawar where they recreated the story, a story anyway of a similar journey, simply by asking people to relive their experiences. In this World deserves notice, and Winterbottom deserves, not an Academy award--those come too cheaply--but some sort of humanitarian award for drawing attention to the subject. (It did win the Golden Bear, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Peace Film Prize at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival.) I wish everyone who arranged and executed the bombing of Afghanistan could see it. We may be able to justify the freeing of the Afghani people from the treacherous Taliban, but can we really justify the lack of attention we're giving the innocents affected by that campaign? If you've never seen any of Winterbottom's films, I recommend you see, well, all of these as well: Welcome to Sarajevo, Wonderland, The Claim, and 24 Hour Party People. I've also heard that Jude is excellent--both Jude and The Claim are based on Thomas Hardy novels (Jude, the Obscure and The Mayor of Casterbridge respectively). Also, for an excellent, yet ultimately sobering movie set in Afghanistan before the fall of the Taliban, see Osama, a tragedy which depicts a 12-year-old girl who poses as a boy in order to earn money from her widowed mother and grandmother. I saw both movies within the past week, and together they provide an extraordinary glimpse at the harrowing existence our fellow humans endure in Afghanistan.
|
Share your thoughts with other customers: 
|
|
Most recent customer reviews
|
Amazon Home
See all 4 customer reviews...
