I Want to Live

I would use the word "Elegant" to describe this film because it is optically a beautiful film, I wish one day it could be released on Blu-ray, the version I watched was online, not full HD quality, but still I found it very beautiful and poetic, like other users mentioned in their reviews, the film is very slow paced, it shows events, daily life and struggle of a little boy in a Refugee Camp, his life is simple, so the film is simple, the camera sees and shows what he sees and show, it capture life the ways it is, without manipulation, which is very rare to find in today's films, that is why I found it so moving and so elegant.

This film was shown at the Anthology Film Archives here in New York presented by Jonas Mekas himself, fore more than 1 hour and 40 minutes everyone in the theater was quite, what is great and beautiful about this film is the simplicity of it, the composition of the shot are beautiful, the camera never move, except when it is inside a car or a motorcycle, the sound is very rich, and pace is slow, the filmmaker show the films as if from the POV of a refuge in the camp seeing everything, because of that everything is presented as it is, the editing, use of Music and the voice over are simple and not intended for manipulation, just 1 hour and 40 minute in the live of a little boy who only has one wish and that is to live as the title suggest, rather a simple wish, but hard for him because he is sick and must get treatment before it is too late.

To my mind, it is a fully realized cinematic work of art, a film that has been carefully composed in every single scene in order to provide a unique and meditative, but powerful watching experience. Without doubt, any viewer with an open heart and mind will be fully immersed into the world and lives of the young children portrayed in this movie.

If you watch the news on daily basis, I'm sure you will see some news about the Kurdish people and their fight against ISIS, there are also many documentaries on the subject, and I have seen many of them, but I have noticed many of these documentaries only give the big picture, they talk about the politic, give number, geographical location, etc. What i loved about this documentary and found it so interesting is how the director take the viewer inside the refugees camp, give a glimpse of what is like to be a refugee, to be a Kurdish refugee, and more than a politic, the film is about the daily life of refugees, their need which are simple, but they are incapable of having, the boy is sick and want to be cured, but the problem is he cannot find treatment where he is, his need is to have a good health, a house, a roof over his head, protected from the heat and from the cold, simple needs. While watching the films I was reminded of the great Italian Neo-realism cinema of 40s and 50s, it is realistic and poetic at the same time.

I watched this documentary at the sideline of the Cannes Film Festival in the Student Section, it tell the story of a little boy by the name of Shendar who is sick and must have a surgery, every day that passes and he does not have this surgery, his health deteriorate for the worse. All the scenes are shot on and around a Refugees camps and we are always with Shendar, he talk about his dream, his wishes for peace, tolerance and also to have a country like others, for Shendar is a Kurd and like 40 million others Kurds he does not have a country, but the film is not about politic, nor the struggle of the Kurdish people and their fight for freedom agaisnt ISIS, it is a simple truthful story about a little boy who just want to live, his only wish as he keep saying "To have a Good health and Live". Very good documentary, truthful.