Green Border
Hranice
Directed by:
Agnieszka HollandCinematography:
Tomasz NaumiukComposer:
Frédéric VerchevalCast:
Jalal Altawil, Maja Ostaszewska, Behi Djanati Atai, Tomasz Włosok, Mohamad Al Rashi, Dalia Naous, Joely Mbundu, Piotr Stramowski, Marta Stalmierska (more)Plots(1)
In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so called “green border” between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia, a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan, a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine. 30 years after Europa Europa, three-time Oscar Nominee Agnieszka Holland’s poignant new feature Zielona Granica opens our eyes, speaks to the heart, and challenges us to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day. (Venice International Film Festival)
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Agnieszka Holland brings an uncomfortably authentic testimony from the Polish-Belarusian border area that is certainly not afraid to dig into the local regimes. The Belarusian and now ex-Polish establishment have essentially written this immigrant nightmare themselves, so why beat around the bush unnecessarily? The “unwanted” go through hell in the border forests full of treacherous swamps, where logic and human rights prevail, and we have no choice but to rely only on the characters of individuals in the end. Perhaps I'd cut back a bit on the narrative lines, but I get it. The goal was to capture the situation comprehensively, not in one big dramatic story. And in the hands of an experienced director, it succeeded.
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