Green Border

Polish director Agnieszka Holland's impassioned examination of the European refugee crisis from her nation's perspective. Holland's film, which she also co-wrote, is a sprawling work which begins by following a family of Syrians who are trying to the EU through Russian dominated Belarus. From there, the movie weaves it way to the Border Guards and, eventually, ia small band of mostly female Aid workers who give medical and legal assistance to the immigrants.

The structure is a bit daunting even though there are loose connections binding it all together. Cinematographer Tomasz Naumiuk shoots in an austere Black and White with Frédéric Vercheval's brooding score as accompaniment. The large cast is quite good with Maja Ostarszewska a standout as the, perhaps a bit naive Julia, one of the Polish volunteers. Behi Djanati Atai is memorable as a defiant Afghan woman who crosses the border with the Syrians. What knits it together is Holland's vision, which becomes clearer and clearer as the various strands are brought together - while simulataneously being torn assunder.

Holland never flinches from the painful and graphic details of the refugees' plight. They are literal political footballs booted from one side of the border to the other. There are times when the structure doesn't completely work and the filmmaker does dwell a bit on some seemingly extraneous details, but, there is no questioning Holland's fervor - much of it directed at Poland's leadership. It's been a highly controversial film within the nation and its government, and throughout much of Europe.

Unsurprisingly, it was NOT Poland's official submission to this past year's Academy Awards.

At 75, Holland (an Oscar nominee for EUROPA EUROPA) has made a daring - some would say angry - film. A stunning work of art that demands to be seen.

This is the second film I've seen this week with Tomasz Wlosok. Earlier, he was in Julia von Heinz's tragic-comedy "Treasure" (2024) with a far lighter and fluffier role than he has here, as a Polish border guard. He is part of a team charged with repelling refugees trying to cross into the EU from Belarus. On that front, we are introduced to travellers who have been lulled into thinking their flight from Syria and Afghanistan will be a dawdle. An expensive one, yes, but a straightforward flight to Minsk on a comfortable Turkish aircraft then a bus to Poland thence on to wherever. Sadly, they soon realise that their bought-and-paid-for journey merely inserts them into a game of human table tennis between the military on both sides of a border - only it's coiled barbed wire rather than a net. It doesn't matter what their predicament - injured, pregnant, old, vulnerable - they are systematically robbed, starved and dehydrated. There is some hope for them, though, as Polish activists try to help them and get them on the register for asylum. That, however, requires that they be reported to the police and then to the guard and so we are back with handsome Tomasz ("Jan") again. Their journey is riddled with peril and that's harrowing at times, but somehow not quite so difficult to stomach as the behaviour of the people in uniform bending or breaking the rules from above to ensure a minimum of these people ever made it past the forests of the 250-odd miles of border. Politics plays it's part too - the government of one nation accused of using these people as "live bullets", the other of sowing seeds of dissent within an EU where rising nationalism is polarising societal attitudes. In the end, it is a really rather brutal assessment of human nature at it's worst whilst also illustrating just what lengths decent folks will go to, and the risks they will take, to do what they feel is right. The intensity of the camerawork - especially in the woods, and the audio editing give this an added piquancy that makes their plight all the more terrifying, frustrating and deadly. I didn't quite get the point of the anecdote at the end. I'm not sure that concluding assertion took into consideration the historic cultural and traditional links between neighbouring Poland and Ukraine as distinct from those fleeing from Syria, but it does offer us considerable food for thought on what is the right thing to do without imposing director Holland's personal view too overwhelmingly on the issues faced by countries that might be legitimately concerned about the impact on their nation, economy and culture of large scale migration. It's not an easy film to watch, it's violent and nasty - but compelling.

Even before the premiere of this movie, there was a lot of drama going on already. Everyone was reviewing it even though all they saw was a tiny bit of trailer. Sometimes, not even that. Even polish government started to make their own propaganda to make people believe it was anti-polish movie and all of that just so they could gain more voters before election that will happen soon. In some cities, it's even banned to be played in cinemas. That's how current government's world works and will work if they win again. No free speech, full censorship of anything that may be offensive towards government and many many more. But it's not about it.

Movie itself is build on politics, so it's hard to not talk about them. Though, I don't think that Holland wanted to attack the army itself, as some of the people think she did, but rather the corruption and how government overused their power. How they forced people to act like there was no human rights, like those people on the other side of the fence were nothing. This movie isn't about letting illegal migrants into the country, but about respect and right treating. We're all humans after all, but what was happening on the border was really wrong.

It's not a documentary, but a lot of things that happened in the movie had place in real life. There was a lot of videos, photos and even articles saying about those horrible things happening. And all of it just because of the government, who wants to make their own people scare and be afraid of other nationalities. Movie was also about our own feelings, how we see the world that surrounds us. It's always hard to say about things, that are uncomfortable, but true. But they have to be said and we can't just let those high positioned people get away with it without any consequences. That's not how this world should work.

I was following the news back then and I'm really glad that such movie was made and is showing somehow the reality of what was happening on the border. But the truth is, what media were allowed to show us and what is the real truth of how it really looked like, is two different things and for people, who are open-minded those two things should matter to draw your own conclusions and based on that make your own opinion.

Agnieszka Holland's *Green Border* (*Zielona granica*) is a powerful and unflinching portrayal of the humanitarian crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border. Through the intersecting stories of a Syrian refugee family, an Afghan English teacher, and a conflicted border guard, the film sheds light on the harrowing realities faced by those caught in the no-man's-land of geopolitical conflict.

Jalal Altawil delivers a heart-wrenching performance as the father of the Syrian family, embodying both resilience and despair. Maja Ostaszewska portrays the Afghan teacher with a quiet strength that anchors her story, while Behi Djanati Atai adds nuance to the role of a border guard torn between duty and conscience. Together, their narratives create a tapestry of human suffering, hope, and moral ambiguity.

Holland's direction is both compassionate and unrelenting, refusing to shy away from the brutality of the situation. The stark, desolate visuals of the borderlands, captured with haunting beauty, underscore the desperation of those trapped in this liminal space. The screenplay, co-written by Holland, Maciej Pisuk, and Gabriela Lazarkiewicz, navigates complex themes of humanity, politics, and survival without resorting to simplifications or clichés.

At 2 hours and 32 minutes, the film's runtime allows for a thorough exploration of its characters and their plights, though some viewers may find the pacing demanding. Nevertheless, the emotional impact and urgent relevance of *Green Border* make it a vital watch.

This is a film for those who seek stories that challenge and provoke, offering no easy answers but demanding empathy and reflection. *Green Border* is a haunting reminder of the human cost of political indifference.

Rating: 8/10 - A deeply moving and essential portrayal of a modern humanitarian crisis.

"Green border" shows immigration from a different perspective than is slowly becoming mainstream in Europe, being it Poland (the land in which the film is situated), Holland (in which the anti-immagration party PVV won the election of november 2023) or England (that want to send refugees to Rwanda).

The situation on the Eastern border of Poland is different in this respect that the Belarus of Lukashenko uses refugees as a weapon against the European Union (EU). They lure refugees to Belarus with the promise that the transit to the EU (i.e. Poland) is without any difficulty, which of course is not the case.

"Green border" is a documentary like film that shows the story from different perspectives. These perspectives are those of a Syrian family, Polish border guards and Polish activists.

The episodes about the Syrian family and the border guards are heavy stuf and the episode about the Polish activists is desperately needed to bring back some confidence in humanity.

The conservative Polish government was very angry about the movie and even called director Agnieszka Holland a Nazi. This is of course ridiculous. The anger was most probably directed against the episode about the Polish border guards, but even these episode is not totally negative as its shows that the border guard these episode is about has increasing psychological difficulties with the job he is doing (pushing back refugees to Belarus). The episode is indeed very critical about his superior, telling the border guards that the refugees are not human beings but bullets fired by Lukashenko.

One perspective that is missing is the Belarussian one. One can criticize the harsh behaviour of the Polish border guards but there can be no doubt abourt the fact that Belarus started using the refugees as pawns in a cynical political power struggle.

Also from Western Europe we have to be carefull with too much criticism. The push backs on land by the Polish border guards are illegal, but what about the push backs on sea by Frontex? Moreover, we have easy talk, not bordering on a cynical regime like that of Lukashenko.

Images say more than 1000 words and in this respect the film is in my opinion a must see for those who want to understand more about the immagration crisis. In the Netherlands I had the feeling that the film was in roulation very short. I had to hurry to visit the last performance and was accompanied by only one fellow visitor.

To conclude one point of critic. In the epilogue the film shows how welcome Ukrainian refugees were when in february 2022 their country was invaded by Russia, strongly suggesting that there is a racist element in which refugeest are being supported and which not. I would like to qualify this suggestion. In the first place the aggressor in the Ukranian war is also a threat to Poland, unlike the aggressors in the other conflicts generating refugees (such as Assad in Syria). In the second place has the loyalty with Ukraine cooled down considerably (not in words but in deeds) after two years of war.