June 28, 2024
FILM: GREEN BORDER
DIRECTED BY: AGNIESZKA HOLLAND
STARRING: JALAL ALTAWIL, MAJA OSTASZEWSKA, TOMASZ WLOSOK
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
During the opening scenes of Agnieszka Holland’s latest film Green Border, refugees from several countries are flying to Belarus. It is September 2021 and this is the first group of people we will meet in the film which intricately weaves several different perspectives on the crisis that has plagued Europe since 2014.
Chapter headings signal who we are to be introduced to in each of the opening film sequences. The first characters are the refugees, including a family from Syria and an English-speaking woman from Afghanistan. The group must struggle through rainy conditions, rough terrain, a lack of money, and a persistently crying baby. They are attempting to get from Belarus into Poland which will lead them to the rest of Europe and thus a potentially greater sense of freedom. However, their biggest challenges are with the border guards who show them little empathy and routinely send them back into Belarus, thus denying that access to Europe. This sequence is particularly brutal to watch as the refugees endure beatings and family separations.
What makes Holland’s film particularly interesting though is how it changes its perspective more than once during the rest of the narrative. We get the point of view (albeit a bit limited) of the guards who believe the refugees “aren’t people.” They end their days either exhausted or ready for some partying. The third sequence focuses on a group of humanitarian activists who assist the refugees with food, medicine, and asylum papers. Their lives are also in danger. Finally, there is Julia, a therapist who stumbles into the crisis when she hears cries for help outside her home.
As the film goes on, Holland interweaves these perspectives making viewers aware of just how many people are involved in this crisis, how much pain it causes, and how much work needs to be done to accomplish their various missions. Often there are conflicts within each group as tensions rise. One guard has a clear emotional breakdown that serves as a potential turning point in his life and vocation. Within the refugees, guilt is felt by some who survive over others. Some experience different fates that are far more promising.
Holland handles all of this with her great skill as a filmmaker - she’s been making films for more than forty years. The film is shot in black and white and the turmoil at the borderlines is captured with constantly moving handheld cameras. She makes it look like a war zone, which in effect it really is, although not in the way we traditionally see it. Her own perspective seems to be that this crisis is a reflection of a war within humanity. She clearly takes the side that a major change needs to be had to end this disrespecting of human rights. Yet she doesn’t offer easy answers. Watching the events unfold, we question why the border guards are so cold and heartless. Only one, the aforementioned guard who has the breakdown, is given much development. Characters in the other groups are a bit more layered. They symbolize Holland’s call to rush to the aid of these refugees, if for no other reason than they ARE humans in the middle of some pretty dire circumstances.
There is a certain sense of hope though as the film shows viewers that people can come together to fight border issues. They’re pretty resilient in their efforts too. Some work pays off more than others. The question then becomes: How far do we need to go to help solve this crisis? What is the personal expense? The fact that border issues continued not long after the events of the film, with Ukrainians seeking asylum in Poland after Russia’s invasion, suggests the fight is far from over.
Green Border is now playing in limited theatrical release.
FILM: GREEN BORDER
DIRECTED BY: AGNIESZKA HOLLAND
STARRING: JALAL ALTAWIL, MAJA OSTASZEWSKA, TOMASZ WLOSOK
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
During the opening scenes of Agnieszka Holland’s latest film Green Border, refugees from several countries are flying to Belarus. It is September 2021 and this is the first group of people we will meet in the film which intricately weaves several different perspectives on the crisis that has plagued Europe since 2014.
Chapter headings signal who we are to be introduced to in each of the opening film sequences. The first characters are the refugees, including a family from Syria and an English-speaking woman from Afghanistan. The group must struggle through rainy conditions, rough terrain, a lack of money, and a persistently crying baby. They are attempting to get from Belarus into Poland which will lead them to the rest of Europe and thus a potentially greater sense of freedom. However, their biggest challenges are with the border guards who show them little empathy and routinely send them back into Belarus, thus denying that access to Europe. This sequence is particularly brutal to watch as the refugees endure beatings and family separations.
What makes Holland’s film particularly interesting though is how it changes its perspective more than once during the rest of the narrative. We get the point of view (albeit a bit limited) of the guards who believe the refugees “aren’t people.” They end their days either exhausted or ready for some partying. The third sequence focuses on a group of humanitarian activists who assist the refugees with food, medicine, and asylum papers. Their lives are also in danger. Finally, there is Julia, a therapist who stumbles into the crisis when she hears cries for help outside her home.
As the film goes on, Holland interweaves these perspectives making viewers aware of just how many people are involved in this crisis, how much pain it causes, and how much work needs to be done to accomplish their various missions. Often there are conflicts within each group as tensions rise. One guard has a clear emotional breakdown that serves as a potential turning point in his life and vocation. Within the refugees, guilt is felt by some who survive over others. Some experience different fates that are far more promising.
Holland handles all of this with her great skill as a filmmaker - she’s been making films for more than forty years. The film is shot in black and white and the turmoil at the borderlines is captured with constantly moving handheld cameras. She makes it look like a war zone, which in effect it really is, although not in the way we traditionally see it. Her own perspective seems to be that this crisis is a reflection of a war within humanity. She clearly takes the side that a major change needs to be had to end this disrespecting of human rights. Yet she doesn’t offer easy answers. Watching the events unfold, we question why the border guards are so cold and heartless. Only one, the aforementioned guard who has the breakdown, is given much development. Characters in the other groups are a bit more layered. They symbolize Holland’s call to rush to the aid of these refugees, if for no other reason than they ARE humans in the middle of some pretty dire circumstances.
There is a certain sense of hope though as the film shows viewers that people can come together to fight border issues. They’re pretty resilient in their efforts too. Some work pays off more than others. The question then becomes: How far do we need to go to help solve this crisis? What is the personal expense? The fact that border issues continued not long after the events of the film, with Ukrainians seeking asylum in Poland after Russia’s invasion, suggests the fight is far from over.
Green Border is now playing in limited theatrical release.