Une famille syrienne

The home front...when home is in the middle of the sht. Excellent character study of life 'endured'.

I've always heard about what's happening in Syria - or rather, what they wanted us to see. But this film showed me something different. Something real. Something painful.

It captured a single day in the life of a family whose daily routine has become a dance with fear fear of bombs, of rape, of death. Children crying in the background, a mother spinning like clockwork to keep order in a world without any.

This film doesn't just tell a story it breaks you. It makes you witness the strength of people who lived through a nightmare and survived. The cast embodied these real lives with heartbreaking honesty.

I didn't just watch the film. I felt it. And I won't forget it.

Most war movies are about soldiers and generals, trying to defeat the enemy. Not this one. 'Insyriated' is about what war does to the daily life of ordinary citizens. That can be even more gruesome to watch than scenes from a battlefield.

The film is set almost entirely in an apartment, where an extended family of nine tries to survive the war. The neighbourhood is constantly bombed, snipers are roaming the streets, there is no running water and no cell phone coverage. The front door of the apartment is barricaded. The rest of the building has been abandoned, left to looters and rapists.

In these circumstances, the family tries to live life as normal as possibly. During air raids, the teenage daughters listen to music on their smartphone, one earbud for each, as teenagers do. The grandfather quietly smokes his cigarettes and hugs his grandson. In the morning, family members quarrel about who can use the bathroom.

But the war is everywhere. There is no escape from it. The film shows how the lives of the family members are increasingly being dominated by fear, despair and anger. These human emotions are far more powerful to show the effects of war than even the most intense battlefield scene.

The decision to film everything within one apartment is a masterstroke. It creates a claustrophobic tension, and it helps the viewer to identify with the family members. Of course, this only works with a superb cast. The two powerful female leads stand out in particular. The mother, played by Arab-Israeli actress Hiam Abass, is great in hiding her true emotions and suppressing her fear to prevent unsettling her children. When she breaks down, at last, the impact is devastating. But the Lebanese actress Diamand Bou Abboud is no less impressive as the upstairs neighbour who has fled to the apartment with her baby, after her own apartment has been bombed.

One of the great things about the film is also that it doesn't spell out the war. In fact, nothing is being explained. We don't know who is fighting whom, or why. It doesn't matter. War is ugly anyhow. Apart from the title, there is even no indication that it takes place in Syria. It is a universal story.

Apart from being an emotional punch in the stomach, the film contains a lot of suspense. The script is very clever. Already in the first few minutes, a terrible incident creates a heart breaking dilemma for some family members. During the rest of the film, some other high-impact events make you sit on the edge of your chair.

'Insyriated' is definitively one of the best films I've seen this year. Maybe even the best. It would make a great candidate for the foreign language Oscars. What a pity that the producing countries, France and Belgium, have chosen other films. Neither one can even stand in the shadow of 'Insyriated'.

I came out of the cinema about a half hour ago and still have not been able to utter a single word. So deeply was I moved by this film. It is a very topical picture because it gives us an insight into what people are going through in Syria. At the same time, it is a universal story of war and what becomes of humanity in times of great suffering. It could be any war, anywhere. In some senses, almost a Sartreian reflection on the human condition. Beautifully and powerfully acted. The cast is nothing short of amazing. The camera-work is just right, giving a real sense of urgency to the action but never overdoing it. The screenplay is tight, and the directing is sure. I could have done without the incidental music, but that's really nitpicking. All in all, a great piece of filmmaking and a film that is bound to become a classic.

"In Syria" is a feel-bad movie, and it should be because it's about the recent civil war in Syria and its effect on a small group of people holed up in an apartment...waiting and hoping for some escape. The problem is to even leave the place invites death from snipers. Other problems they encounter are rape gangs, low provisions and how to cope with the stress and boredom. It's all very difficult to watch...and very similar to movies made about the recent Bosnian civil war. But, also an important film because it exposes a part of modern history many of us rarely think about and which films generally avoid. Well made and worth your time. Just be forewarned...there is a very difficult to watch rape scene. Anyone who has experienced this sort of awful abuse might do best to avoid the film or watch it with someone for support.