Filmmaker Sean McAllister had the good fortune to be making a documentary in Syria at the time of civil unrest back in 2011 and this five-year-film explores the country's disintegration from the point of view of a family living there at the time. The husband is a former Palestinian terrorist, while the mother is a Syrian who makes the unwise decision of writing a book about the failings of the Assad regime. She's thrown in jail, and life becomes difficult for both the parents and their three children.
This is a very well made documentary that lets the characters tell their own story without the filmmaker trying to get in the way or influence things. It's a grim and unsettling journey with no real happy endings; the husband is a flawed character unable to comprehend his wife's feelings, while the wife has more love for her country than she does for her family. What happens will surprise nobody, but the journey there is full of emotion and upset. I particularly liked the way the tough kids remained seemingly unfazed by what was occurring around them, so I guess there is a happy ending of sorts too.
This is a very well made documentary that lets the characters tell their own story without the filmmaker trying to get in the way or influence things. It's a grim and unsettling journey with no real happy endings; the husband is a flawed character unable to comprehend his wife's feelings, while the wife has more love for her country than she does for her family. What happens will surprise nobody, but the journey there is full of emotion and upset. I particularly liked the way the tough kids remained seemingly unfazed by what was occurring around them, so I guess there is a happy ending of sorts too.