Movie Review: Cries from Syria

Cries from Syria *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Evgeny Afineevsky.   

 

Cries from Syria is the third documentary this year that I have seen about the current situation in that country – following Last Men in Aleppo and City of Ghosts. I really do wish I had watched this film before those two – I think it’s a slightly better film than either of those, but that’s not the reason – the reason is that it does the best job of giving an overview of what exactly has happened in Syria since 2011. Last Men in Aleppo is focused on the White Helmets – who rush when bombs fall to try and save people, and City of Ghosts focuses on the civilian journalists – many in exile – who worked to document what happened. Their strength is in their focus on one aspect of the tragedy that is Syria – Cries from Syria’s strength lies in the opposite direction – by giving a wider scope. Cries from Syria lacks the depth of those films to be sure – and I wish the film had expanded its lens even wider, to show the International response (or lack thereof) – but I understand that’s not its goal. It’s amazing that for all the talk about Syria, there has not been as much talk as how they got there. This film helps explain it.

 

In the wake of the Arab Spring – where numerous countries rose up against their brutal dictators to overthrow them, civilians in Syria decided to do the same thing. A group of kids wrote “It’s your turn, doctor” on the side of a school – referencing Assad, their brutal leader, to step down. Assad does what brutal dictators do by capturing, torturing and killing the young men (and they were teenagers) responsible. Of course, that didn’t quell the rebellion – it just fed it. As it grew, so did Assad’s response –all the way until Assad is using chemical weapons on his own people. Hundreds of thousands have been murdered, and so far, the International response has been woefully inept.

 

Cries from Syria has images that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Some of them are already famous – the body of drowned toddler on the beach, the image of another toddler soaked in blood and dust, stunned as he sits in a chair – and some that you have not seen before. Much of the footage in the film comes from on the ground reporting – videos shot with cellphones, etc, which – like those other films – gives you a glimpse of what it’s like on the ground and Syria (and really, is the only way we would get any footage – Assad isn’t going to allow a free press after all.

 

I find films like Cries from Syria both very powerful, and very frustrating. Frustrating because I cannot help but wonder if those who can actually change anything are going to see them. There is an element of preaching to the choir here – those who are going to watch a documentary about Syria, are those who already want to help Syria – and the mass of refugees who are trying to escape certain death (and who people like Donald Trump and his supporters paint as potential terrorists, so they simply let them die). Cries from Syria is a film that everyone should see. I do wish it was a film that took more time, and dug deeper into many of its subjects – or did show the lack of response from the rest of the world. But as an overview of the situation, the film is invaluable.