Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land

Burma (where, ironically, George Orwell was born) is perhaps the country in the world that most resembles an Orwellian nightmare, under the grip of a repressive military dictatorship for over 40 years. In the west, we don't usually hear much about it, which is, one suspects, much as its rulers would like. But this absorbing documentary tells the story of a (sadly failed) revolt that took place in 2007, as well as the story of those who reported it in defiance of the authorities. And it's a shocking film to see: if the monks protest against the government, the government has no qualms about killing the monks. When the army (for whatever reason) refused to break ranks with its generals, the revolution was doomed; fundamentally, no-one want to die. The generals' propaganda would almost be funny if it wasn't backed up by the utter willingness to use lethal force, even in the face of peaceful protest. 'Burma VJ' is an important testament to the grim reality of life in the country; but at the end, even the resistance leaders are despairing of hope.

Burma is an oppressive military state. It's illegal to protest in public. Men with guns will come and take you away if you do it. In 2007 a massive uprising began in the country when fuel prices became too high.

The images of the monks marching in the streets were the defining image of this uprising but this documentary shows a lot more footage, the really important footage which is worth seeing.

The video journalists in Burma (Myanmar) record everything undercover and sneak the footage out of the country so it can be broadcast around the world.

The images are pretty stark, the army shooting unarmed civilians in the street, beating up and carrying away monks, a dead monk floating in a river the day after they were arrested.

This is a very good documentary about the people rising up and fighting what is pretty much an impossibly authoritarian force. The soldiers have guns, the civilians have flags and video cameras. It's not hard to see who will win when you think of it this way. And yet the students, monks and rest of the people in the streets never waiver. They march onward, even saying, "Those who don't fear death, come to the front". That's bravery. Our political fights in North America and the rest of the Western world, while important are a mere shadow compared to the people of Myanmar.

Burma is of course only one story of an authoritarian government, there are many more. Canadian and American companies regularly do business with this regime and rape the land of its resources. It's pretty obvious why Canadian troops are "fighting for democracy" in Afghanistan instead of Burma. We don't don't control the resources there, we do in Burma.

The Western world concerns itself with issues like that of bias in the media. In Burma, journalism is illegal. The impact of "Burma VJ" is pretty straightforward. These VJs, living under a militaristic government, risk their lives to get footage of the crimes against humanity in their country--the killing of Buddhist monks, the extreme crowd control--and smuggle it out so the world can see (as well as back into Burma to counteract the government's propaganda).

It's hard to get a sense of just what director Anders Ostergaard brings to this story as he creates a film: his greatest achievement is that he simply lets his source, named Joshua, tell his story. The issue speaks for itself and the footage these daring citizens capture is plenty to awaken anyone unaware of the situation in Burma to the tragedy there.

Certain parts are more compelling than others, but in general, "Burma VJ" executes to the fullest what every good documentary should: enlighten. The film's impact goes a bit beyond into the realm of courage and sacrifice of the citizen to stand up to wrongdoing in his or her country--certainly unique in that this comes to light through illegal journalism--but mostly you are left with becoming aware and upset that a government would treat its people this way, glad to live somewhere where journalism is an institution. Suddenly the conflict we see every day between the media and establishment seems so totally insignificant. It's a reminder of how important the work of the journalist is and how it's a privilege to have in a country, which ultimately is about the privilege of being free in a country. ~Steven C

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I knew very little about Myanmar prior to watching this film, but learnt much from it. It shows vividly how a military dictatorship can brutally suppress demonstrators who want to have more human rights and freedoms. This occurs in front of our eyes as brave camera people clandestinely film the "freedom movement" demonstrations. We see that as more and more people rally to the cause, the government and military react severely to suppress the manifestations, showing no tolerance whatsoever to their people. At the end of the documentary we learn that several of the camera people were arrested and their current whereabouts are unknown. Watch the special features for interviews with monks who bravely participated in the rallies and another short film on the civil war in Myanmar. If you are from a democratic country like myself, you realize how fortunate you are.

This Oscar nominated documentary tells the story of what happened in Burma in 2007 when the military suppressed 100,000 protesters.

Underground reporters captured what was happening. The footage has been shown on news stations, but this is a collection of the footage showing a complete story.

The reporters faced death or life imprisonment to get this footage. Once the military realized that the footage was being sent by the reporters, and not foreign journalists, they systematically hunted them down.

Those who were not arrested, spread out through the country.

It was a touching story of how the people stood up to oppression. They were not teabaggers, but people willing to die for freedom.