By the time only a scant few minutes have elapsed already 'In Syria' is so profoundly impactful that only the word "excruciating" comes to mind. I'm immediately taken with Jean-Luc Fafchamps' quietly haunting score and Virginie Surdej's smart cinematography; a few notes and one slow pan of the camera speak volumes. The assembled cast have been on-screen for mere moments and already their acting comes across as so superbly nuanced and sincerely, emotionally wrought that I'm not at all surprised to learn how highly acclaimed this has been. So much about this film is superficially simple and uncomplicated - the premise, the plot, the production design and art direction, Philippe Van Leeuw's direction - yet there is a resounding intelligence and sharp finesse to every element, and the result is unfailingly stunning. Not one instant is wasted or anything less than piercing: this is as utterly phenomenal as it is difficult to watch.
Many movies have been made about the "horrors of war," but the most violent recreations will never hold a candle to the searing, unyielding drama of the more wide-ranging ramifications of conflict. Constant terror, impossible choices, forced isolation and containment, distrust, necessary strict conservation of limited resources, and the mounting pressures of crowded, guarded living are juxtaposed with reflections of love, tenderness, innocence, wistful hope for relief, and subtle intimations of what has been lost. This balance of contrasting sordidness, the bleak realities of our world, is more than enough to make the picture painfully, wretchedly upsetting. That discrete bursts of awful violence are peppered in, accentuating and amplifying the very personal and soul-destroying cost of such upheaval and all that comes with it, lets 'In Syria' turn the corner from "extremely depressing" to "abjectly horrifying." And still, that the feature maintains a considerably muted tone all the while, downplaying as much of the course of events as possible, only serves to heighten the effect of every last iota.
Filmmaker Van Leeuw has given us an immensely powerful, all too commonly relevant portrait of civilian life under the looming specter of war; this movie has a particular setting yet could just as easily take place in any time or country. Like the broadly low-key, tone, the singular space in which we meet our characters only fosters greater tension with the simultaneous feeling of claustrophobia but also being completely unable to leave such confinement for the terrible dangers beyond the walls. To that end: while everyone who worked on this is to be congratulated for their stellar contributions, not least Van Leeuw and the cast, it can't be overstated how important the work of the sound department is in this instance, even more than for other films. Except for outright horror films, I'm not sure when the last time was that I saw a feature in which audio and sound effects, portending doom and enormous peril that is unseen for the characters, audience, or both, was so majorly important to the viewing experience. That the inclusion here is so ruthlessly clear and pristine is a credit to all on hand for the significance it has in the presentation.
Not one word or title card needs to be appended to emphasize the crucial message underlying 'In Syria,' for this reflects the horrible truth of the dire circumstances of living in a war zone, a potential situation from which no one is entirely safe. By the same token, it requires no imagination at all to envision a similar scenario unfolding even outside the auspices of martial conflict specifically. And with that said, it can only be repeated that everything about the feature, what we see, hear, or feel, only augments the already pervasive, gnawing agitation the viewing experience inculcates. Only in the sense of how finely it's all executed could it be said this is a pleasant watch, for otherwise the film is distinctly, pointedly distressing; viewer discretion is necessarily advised just for the harrowing nature of the trauma involved. Even at that, however, Van Leeuw and his cast and crew have crafted a picture so mightily potent that the same three words apply here as to any of the worst headlines in real life: "don't look away." Rich and perfect in its construction, totally spellbinding in its finished form, 'In Syria' is a must-see.
