Cries from Syria (2017) Poster

(2017)

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9/10
If this documentary doesn't disturb you, you have no soul
kevin-3-60647515 March 2017
It first starts playing as a history of a war documentary but quickly turns into a story of humanity. This is the kind of story of war you usually watch ten years after it's over, not while it's still active.

Be warned, much of the footage is graphic, it needs to be to describe the whole horrendous situation over there. If the world understands what's happened over there, we might be a little more compassionate for the people who suffered through this, especially the children.

After WWII we looked back and wondered why we waited so long to get involved. In Syria much is already too late, but there's still time left to do something, something for the children and their cries for help.
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9/10
In the words of the people of Syria
kingkoopakoopah1 April 2017
Be warned the images are extremely graphic. As some people have noted, this type of documentary is usually seen years after a war has ended. Astonishing what the Syrian people have faced. I happened to stumble on this documentary, completely clueless of what's going on in Syria. Whether you see things from the left or on the right side of politics this documentary is told by the people of the country, not news reporters or columnist. Be prepared to have your eyes open, many opinions on major news networks always put their own spin to influence viewers.

This documentary highly recommend it to anyone that would like to be better informed of the current situation in Syria.
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8/10
brutal
jimkeaney-0596922 April 2017
I just watched this doc and it is very heavy. I try to watch everything I see in 2017 with a grain of salt. The graphic footage of bodies of children tortured and murdered was relentless, but I wondered why they weren't spending any time explaining the villains point of view. Why are Assad and Russia blowing them up? Simple question. The doc alludes to the idea that Russia claimed to be helping eradicate "ISIS" at Aleppo - meanwhile no ISIS were there. How does Assad explain his actions, especially early on when torturing & kidnapping 11 year old's for disrespectful graffiti? Who were his army at that point? And how? Maybe that's an entirely different doc, but I thought the whole thing seemed one sided. And perhaps rightly so. They sure did look like the heroes throughout.
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10/10
Everyone should see this documentary
emkonn27 April 2017
If you are asking why America should take in refugees from Syria, this documentary will answer your question by giving you a better understanding of the hell that these people are going through because of a genocidal maniac Bashar Assad who not only is being propped up by Putin but who assists him in the mass murder of innocent civilians to the point of intentionally bombing hospitals under the guise of fighting terrorism. The grievous toll on the children is both heartbreaking and horrifying. This should be required viewing by a certain president whose name I shall not mention but who has made a point of vilifying immigrants by fear mongering. As for Assad there is no hell sufficient to punish him
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10/10
Insomnia turns into a nightmare
EricR1970-111 April 2017
I had insomnia last night, so I turned on HBO and watched this documentary. At some point in watching it I thought I had fallen asleep and was in a nightmare, but no, I was wide awake. I was an apathetic American until last night, but I am now outraged. These people are going through hell, and most of them are women and children. Bashar Assad is obviously guilty of war crimes and needs to be held accountable. This documentary is a must watch for everyone. The world will have to become sufficiently outraged to bring the criminal Assad to be held to account for what he has done and is doing.
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10/10
Heartbreaking
disloyalaprilrain30 August 2020
Cries from Syria is a very moving documentary. This film brought tears to my eyes numerous times. It is hortible the genocide that is going on there.
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10/10
Had to fight back tears
blahby12345629 March 2017
This documentary makes you wonder about your life and all the "problems" you face everyday. These people no longer have a home, many have lost loved ones, starvation and fighting (including with WMD) sort of make your problems seem trivial.

I came upon this show by accident while channel surfing and I couldn't look away. I wonder if HBO had ever shown this during prime time hours like 8 PM or only on late night (12:40AM - 2:40AM) when I caught it. After our last presidential election where our new president (sadly it's Trump) talked about refusing assistance to these people or even letting them in, it makes you wonder how Christian all these American people really are. When you stand before God for judgment, he will ask you what you did to help people like these and you better have a good answer.

This show follows the war in Syria over several years, from the civil war against the Asad regime to the invasion by ISIS to the Russian involvement, which only made things worse. It is VERY GRAPHIC, as it should be. It includes real footages of death, destruction, dismemberment, and even footages of civilians poisoned by WMD from Asad's regime, as the world did little to help.

To me, this show is one of the few that I feel everyone should watch. As I watched this, I remembered an incident I read about in WW2. When the Allies invaded Germany and freed the Jews, they saw the concentration camps and began to realize the full extent of the massacre. They asked the German people of a nearby town why they did not do anything against their government, the people responded they didn't know what was happening to the jews. The Allies then to these people to the concentration camps and showed them what they did not know was going on.

If we Americans are true Christians, then we need to show it in our actions.
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9/10
Live action events and documentary
eccl23 March 2017
Like The Killing Fields (1984), Mayrig (1991), Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Hotel Rwanda (2004), or Blood Diamond (2006), Cries from Syria reveals the horrors and madness of a genocide; yet, unless these other movies the victims are not actors - but mostly innocent men, women and children dead or dying in front of your faces. It makes you question the leaders of the world and how such ungodliness can be allowed. All adults should watch these movies lest many live their selfish lives without a care for others.
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10/10
If you seek the truth about Syria, this will blow your mind.
jamiemckaye5 May 2017
With the mainstream media dampening almost every aspect of what is going on in Syria with, by every stretch, utter nonsense, this doc is a wide-eye-opener.

Like many, I like to think I'm informed in various current news topics and like to have a voice when it comes to expressing myself - but how wrong and misled I was with the goings on in Syria.

Told starkly and with graphic and upsetting scenes, Cries from Syria tells the story that the world doesn't want you to hear.

Truly superb and whatever your political opinions are, they will be readily pushed aside when you uncover the extent of what the situation is over there.

10/10.
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How do you even "rate" this? "Spoiler Alert!" Syrian children are being tortured and dying!
mrfreedomx-217-61814717 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
But God forbid we accept the refugees in our country because yeah, I'm sure they really hate our government a lot more than the Assad regime. Sure, Bashar al-Assad's army will torture and kill children, and then send their corpses back to their families to taunt them. They'll bomb schools, SCHOOLS! On purpose! Not "collateral damage." They target schools and children ON PURPOSE! ...oh but yeah, I'm sure the refugees really want to destroy our government/country more. Yep, makes total sense to me. Especially after months and months of vetting and screening.

I am ashamed to say that I did not truly know just how sadistic this evil regime and its army was. I didn't know how disgusting and horrifying their crimes against the innocent people were. I don't care if they weren't even innocent at all! NO ONE deserves what happened, certainly not CHILDREN! CHILDREN???!!!!!

After seeing this film, you can never un-see it, never un-know it. It is certainly the most GRUESOME, GRAPHIC, and HEART-CRUSHING footage I've ever witnessed by far. Do NOT allow your children to see this... even if you want them to understand something really important. It's too devastating. I would never allow my son to see this until maybe... maybe he was a high school junior. Even as a freshman, I would be afraid of how it might kill his hope or feelings of the world being inherently decent.

I don't know what other kinds of horrible governments there are in the world, but I honestly feel like even North Korea doesn't kill its people with the seemingly evil, purely sadistic, sick zeal that this regime does. Even Nazi Germany didn't send Jewish children's corpses back to their parents with taunting notes attached to my knowledge. Oh my god.

We need to stop whining about threats that aren't even there and help the innocents! And may the animals who belong to this regime's so-called "Army" be wiped from the face of the earth! It depresses me to no end that we are becoming friendlier than ever with Russia, who has been helping Assad in this disgusting effort. How can he sleep? How? Pure evil.

If you are the least bit cynical about anything in this film after watching it, shame on you! You are inhuman.
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9/10
Excellent, powerful, well-done and important
runamokprods6 August 2017
An even stronger film than Afneevsky's excellent "Winter on Fire", he uses a similar strategy here. He films his own interviews and some footage of what is going on in the country. But the core of the documentary is first hand video footage from citizens' cell phones and other cameras - images from those living and dying on the front lines - bringing the tale a powerful immediacy.

The story is truly tragic, as a hopefully attempt for an Arab spring type peaceful uprising against the long standing violent and dictatorial leadership of Assad (the film includes footage of his torturers at work) devolved quickly into brutal civil war as the government uses any means necessary to subdue it's citizens -- including devastating chemical weapon's attacks (again, among the often very brutal footage in the film).

At the same time ISIS came to the country promising to ally with the people, but quickly revealed their own murderous ways as they attempt to take over large areas of the country and impose themselves as draconian strongmen despots, killing anyone who won't do their bidding or live by their rules. So now for the people of Syria, their cities and society are being decimated by two groups of monsters simultaneously. Meanwhile, the world does shockingly little to help the rebels. As Russian planes go on bombing raids to help bolster their puppet government, the US and US look on with horror, but don't seem to be trying to even get the rebels supplies, much less to fight for or with the, or even to send a meaningful peace keeping force.

What makes the film really stand out is how it works as an emotionally devastating account of human suffering, while still doing a better job than any documentary or news report I've seen to simply make clear exactly what is going on, and whom is fighting with whom in the Syrian nightmare.
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4/10
Could have been much more powerful
Sam-953-16928515 April 2017
This documentary is full of awful death and gore and suffering. Nearly two hours of it. Every minute shows mass death. It is horrible and painful to watch.

And they make it worse with some very depressing music. It makes the reality of the misery seem like just another of thousands of violent movies. It diminishes the impact and the reality of what this documentary is trying to say.

I watched the whole thing. I read nearly all of the subtitles. People need to see this and understand. Please don't criticize me for saying that I am concerned that most people won't watch it. People need to see how awful it is for the people of Syria but I am concerned that this documentary shows too much of the suffering. It shows nothing more than the suffering.

I am against the big and powerful taking advantage and overpowering people. This documentary says nothing about why the government is doing such awful things. It teaches us practically nothing. This documentary could be much more powerful if it explained the political and financial motivations of the governments.

I am sorry about being so critical, but I want what is best for those that suffer and this documentary is not likely to help as much as it should. It hurts to see people suffer like that but we need more than the emotions, we also need the information and this documentary does not provide that.
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10/10
UN is a big fat joke
invisibleabood10 August 2021
It seems that Syrians aren't as humans as the people who were being mistreated back in the 1930s and early 1940s otherwise the dictator and his supporters from Russians and Iranians would have been stopped since the beginning of these atrocities. This documentary shows a small part of what has been happening in syria for the past 50+ years and the world is watching in utter silence.
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10/10
Real World Horror
pcristianjohnson5 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I'm ashamed of being human. Period. If there wasn't a character requirement I would leave it there. But I will let it be known to anybody who sits there and says "we don't want them they're just terrorists" watch this (enter four letter word ending with ing) documentary and if you have any semblance of a soul or a heart you will change your mind. These are women, children, families. Human beings that just want to live their life and have peace. And we are too selfish as a people to see it. I cried during almost the entire duration of this. Literally right before our eyes we have someone committing acts as basically a modern day hitler to his own people. Children being poisoned, blown up, schools and hospitals being destroyed.
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