In This World

This film deserves a wide audience - and we are constantly reminded what or who is in this world, and what that entails. The story line is simple: two Afghan refugees, dispossessed in their land, struggling to survive (on 1 US $ a day, search for new life in a promised land - either the United Kingdom (London) or the USA.

We are all aware of the prejudice meted out to those of middle Eastern descent by the leaders of these 'first world countries'; we are also aware that war and the rampage of war leads to dog-eats-dog scenario.

Without preaching, the director takes us (through an involvement with the young leads, apparently not trained actors) through this world, moving from Afghanistan, to the East (Iran, Pakistan), and landing in Europe (Turkey, Italy, England).

What struck me throughout was the single-mindedness displayed by the younger actors, as they have to cope with a world at once alien and familiar to them.

There are moments of intense kindness by strangers, balanced by the manipulation of others who are motivated by greed and an unempathetic bureaucracy too.

Acting is naturalistic: there are some brilliant cameo shots - and Winterbottom has achieved a Herculean task; the film comes across as a real, hands-on documentary that is unscripted, and where events unfold before one's eyes.

Aided by voice-overs and a montage of black and white images, this has a feel of historic truth, a sense of actuality about it. I was moved by this film, totally.

It is a cry from the director's soul, and (unfortunately) won't reach the people it should. Refreshing, sensitive and an absolute must-see.

Michael Winterbottom, I thought, was a director worth watching (I had seen his film "Jude") but I was sorely disappointed with this film that was bestowed with a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film festival--a festival that often picks up fine cinema for its honors. I saw "In this world" at the on-going Dubai international film festival expecting to see top-notch cinema.

Instead of great cinema, I saw a film that flounders in its effort to capture reality. Winterbottom and cinematographer Marcel Zyskind capture young faces and their action creditably (the young sibling who follows his brother as he leaves the refugee camp) at times and then slip up to the most shoddy camera-work soon after (local Pakistanis staring at the camera, shadows of vehicles carrying camera equipment on road sequences). The film attempts to capture fiction in a documentary style. The effort is commendable but the outcome is at best an average effort at highlighting the problem of refugees.

The film begins with statements on the ration provided to refugees. A great beginning with shots of a real refugee camp. Then I was appalled to see shots of women dancers being showered with currency notes and a gruesome sacrifice/killing of an ox--sequences that add no value to the rest of the film.

What is the film trying to state? Refugees are in a bad shape and they need to escape. Is Winterbottom suggesting that those who succeed are heroes and those who do not are tragic figures? Is he trying to make a statement on cultural values across borders?

I feel Winterbottom could have served better purpose if he had retained the elements of documentary and discussed the problems of refugees than dramatize the journey itself. If he wanted to dramatize the journey--what are the shots of the dancing women doing here?

Berlin has made a wrong choice--not that Winterbottom lacks in talent. But this is mixed-up cinema

Those of us who live in so-called "western" and "civilized" cities always enjoy imagining the nostalgia of getting away from it all, owning a small hut in the mountains, living off of nature's gifts: veggies from the back yard, and meat from the farmhouse. Well, then there are those who live in those places that seem oh so nostalgic to us, and can't wait to get away from it all. They face the realities of rural life that so many of us day-dreamers tend not to include in our imaginings. And it also becomes hard for us to comprehend what is it about our stress-filled lives that these people want, that they would put their lives in danger and risk everything for entering another country and be part of that life. Then we realize the ignorant and arrogant lives we've been living: The luxury of taking survival for granted.

Films like "In this world" show us the journey taken in search for the promised lands. And we realize that the struggle for survival is common in every part of the world; it simply takes a different shape or form. The refugee's life becomes a story of adaption, rather than reaching a resolution. The idea of getting away from it all turns into realizing the lack of the void: that the frame of mind is what dictates what we want to get away from. Because it is so easy to find something to want to get away from, anywhere we live. Winterbottom's film captures these issues in almost documented reality of two brothers in search for the promised lands. It's almost as obvious of a reality right infront of us, as real and un-noticed as the image of the main titles super-imposed on a paint-peeling wall.

We see that we all are a refugee, running away from something, only to realize that we end up chasing a dream we will be running away from again later.

I don't want to try to explain the events in this film, or create an indepth synopsis. I'm not very good at that, and there are better places to find them (in fact, I think it's better to view it without knowing the plot).

What I do want to explain is how the concept is executed, and the effects it creates on the audience.

Though I said this is a serious film, I don't mean it's a film that can only be understood by the super-intelligent. This film is effective for everyone who cares to read into the situation.

At first, I thought this was a true documentary. The DV handheld camera and documentary feel is there all the way through the film, but at the start there was a quick voice over explaining a few things about the location. Also, bystanders were interacting with the camera.

However, as things progressed it's obvious to anyone that it's not a documentary, but in fact a very crafty piece of filmmaking. The beginning intends to fool you into the idea that this is a true, real life documentary, so as things hot up, you are more engaged. I was pondering this issue through the first fifth of the film, however, this wasn't a bad thing at all.

The settings in the film were breathtaking, so real and brutal. It was, in essence, a road movie. Our protagonists travelled around and stopped off at places, but as it was in documentary style, we seemed that little more part of the quest than you would in other road movies.

This may sound hypocritical, but because of the documentary style, we stay distant from our characters. We don't align with their emotions; instead we are voyeurs to the situation. Rather than feeling things from their point of view, we feel the situations as if we were there WITH them.

The visuals and editing in this film are also very important. In one scene, I was feeling very disoriented, and, almost sick, just like our on-screen characters. This was due to the lighting and editing, not shock or sickening imagery.

I saw this film in the cinema, but I expect many people will only be able to see this on TV or DVD because this isn't running the mainstream cinema circuit. However, unlike most movies, I think this will work well on all mediums because it's not a traditional film as it tries to pass itself off as a documentary. Maybe the scenes that really effected me physically won't work so well viewing them at home because it's unlikely you have the same A/V equipment, however everything else will be fine.

I agree with the previous review that this film is bleak, but despite this, it is very intriguing and you won't be able to look away once you get into it! You shouldn't leave the film feeling bored.

A FILM does not get much more real than this! I give it 8/10.

It is a magnificently crafted film from a cinematic standpoint, following no formulaic conventions about how to tell a story. It mixes dramatic and documentary techniques to create a moody, unflinching look at the plight of refugees of war. By introducing techniques of voice-over fact presentations and title overlays, it sets up an expectation that we are about to watch a documentary, and that what we are about to see is being filmed as it happens. Yet clearly, it must be a fiction, because it's too sharp, clean, and choreographed to be anything but staged. It maintains a curiously detached and distanced voice, and even the characters themselves seem rather remote from their own lives. They have a sad, worn-down air, and seem to trudge ahead with neither hope nor fear even in the most horrific circumstances. Their detachment from their own lives distances the viewer from them as well, unfortunately.