For Sama * * *
By my understanding (which is always questionable) the Vietnam war was the first conflict to be beamed into our living rooms. That war came with the growth of television. Ever since then it has been an expectation that we will have a ringside seat of any conflict that is taking place somewhere else in the world. And even more so since the internet.
Unfortunately, after sixty years we are quite used to such confrontational imagery. So, I have to say, in that respect For Sama is hardly a revelation.
All too many times we have seen the footage of children crying, being taken into hospitals with limbs missing, with parents pounding the dirt with grief. We are distressed whilst we watch it, but we also tend to get over it quickly. 'What can we do?', we ask ourselves, 'It's a foreign land and a foreign government'.
In this film by Syrian, Waad Al-Kateab, you will not be seeing hidden truths. Mostly shot in one small section of Aleppo, t's another perspective of the Syrian conflict but it's not new. Unless you are to ask the question, how can so much uninformative photography be included?
I'm not being sarcastic when I say that. There really is a lot of useless imagery of her feet, the ceiling, blackness. Not to mention the typical parental worship of their first child. (Hey, we're all guilty of that, that's okay. But does it really belong here? Actually I think it does. I'll explain later).
Then of course there is her "front line" material, as we watch bodies being dragged out of the river, children bringing their mortally wounded siblings into the hospital because their parents are dead or can't be found. Doctors working tirelessly in impossible conditions.The Russian bombers coming in, dropping their deadly loads on streets where children play. The chaos in the street as the air strikes begin - no one knowing where to take cover. We really do see what it is like to be living in a war zone and at times like this Waad- Al-Kateab and her tiny camera does very well.
She filmed this over five years. Waad Al-Kateab describes herself as a journalist.She might be, I don't know, but going on this I have to say she is not a particularly good one, or perhaps she is just willfully different from the conventional.
I was hoping I would learn more about Syria and why it is being torn apart. But I learnt nothing more than what I already know (and that is not a lot). Her description of the political situation and even the divisions in the opposing forces is scant. The tragic usurping of the rebellion by Islamic extremists is dealt with in two or three sentences. As for her interview skills, they are dreadful. She rarely asks anyone an insightful question, and in one disturbing scene she cruelly questions a young boy to tears. For what?! "How would you feel if your parents left you here?" she asks him. How do you think he'd feel?!
But perhaps journalism was never her intention.
Perhaps For Sama, really is supposed to be nothing more than home videos like we all take. Except this is in a war zone. Perhaps, as the title says, she was filming this for her daughter Sama. So Sama will understand why she was born and raised in such a dangerous environment. Why they lived there among the bombing and the horror, and how Sama's father Hamza ,was a doctor who wanted to stay and attend to the wounded as the people of Aleppo dug in, refusing to yield to the Syrian forces and the Russian bombing. You cannot help but admire Hamza: he really is the hero of this film.
Their family are out of Syria now and living London. Probably living rather like we do - in safely and comfort and watching war reports on television. Though I very much doubt their reaction would be the same as ours.
Unfortunately, after sixty years we are quite used to such confrontational imagery. So, I have to say, in that respect For Sama is hardly a revelation.
All too many times we have seen the footage of children crying, being taken into hospitals with limbs missing, with parents pounding the dirt with grief. We are distressed whilst we watch it, but we also tend to get over it quickly. 'What can we do?', we ask ourselves, 'It's a foreign land and a foreign government'.
In this film by Syrian, Waad Al-Kateab, you will not be seeing hidden truths. Mostly shot in one small section of Aleppo, t's another perspective of the Syrian conflict but it's not new. Unless you are to ask the question, how can so much uninformative photography be included?
I'm not being sarcastic when I say that. There really is a lot of useless imagery of her feet, the ceiling, blackness. Not to mention the typical parental worship of their first child. (Hey, we're all guilty of that, that's okay. But does it really belong here? Actually I think it does. I'll explain later).
 |
| Hamza and Waad and baby Sama |
She filmed this over five years. Waad Al-Kateab describes herself as a journalist.She might be, I don't know, but going on this I have to say she is not a particularly good one, or perhaps she is just willfully different from the conventional.
I was hoping I would learn more about Syria and why it is being torn apart. But I learnt nothing more than what I already know (and that is not a lot). Her description of the political situation and even the divisions in the opposing forces is scant. The tragic usurping of the rebellion by Islamic extremists is dealt with in two or three sentences. As for her interview skills, they are dreadful. She rarely asks anyone an insightful question, and in one disturbing scene she cruelly questions a young boy to tears. For what?! "How would you feel if your parents left you here?" she asks him. How do you think he'd feel?!
But perhaps journalism was never her intention.
Perhaps For Sama, really is supposed to be nothing more than home videos like we all take. Except this is in a war zone. Perhaps, as the title says, she was filming this for her daughter Sama. So Sama will understand why she was born and raised in such a dangerous environment. Why they lived there among the bombing and the horror, and how Sama's father Hamza ,was a doctor who wanted to stay and attend to the wounded as the people of Aleppo dug in, refusing to yield to the Syrian forces and the Russian bombing. You cannot help but admire Hamza: he really is the hero of this film.
Their family are out of Syria now and living London. Probably living rather like we do - in safely and comfort and watching war reports on television. Though I very much doubt their reaction would be the same as ours.
Comments
Post a Comment