The fury that radiates off the veteran Polish director Agnieszka Holland's film "Green Border" "is so intense that you can almost feel it encasing you in its heat", said Manohla Dargis in The New York Times. "A brutal, deeply affecting drama" rooted in real events, it follows refugees from the Middle East and Africa as they attempt to enter the European Union via Belarus and Poland.
The film is mainly set "in the so-called exclusion zone" between the two countries, a "haunted, contested, dangerously swampy slice of land" patrolled by armed guards, who show no mercy to those migrants who are unfortunate enough to be caught by them. The characters include a "tense" Syrian couple (Jalal Altawil and Dalia Naous) who are travelling with their family; and Leila (Behi Djanati Atai), "a middle-aged Afghan gutsily making the journey alone". The cruelty they and others encounter is shocking, but "the rigour of Holland's filmmaking, and the steadfastness of her compassion, help steady you as a viewer. Pay attention, you can almost hear her whispering in your ear: pay witness."
"There are important films that are tough to watch," said Alistair Harkness in The Scotsman, "and then there's 'Green Border'." A contender for "the most distressing film ever made", it forces us "to confront the fact that this isn't some atrocity in Europe's dark and murky past", but a "humanitarian crisis, happening right now".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Shot in black and white, the film is "expertly made", said Kevin Maher in The Times. But the screenplay "rams manifestos into the mouths" of its characters, whose fates are sadly predictable. "If a pregnant woman appears, she'll be beaten by a psychotic border guard. If there's a cute kid, he's going to die." After a while, alas, "compassion fatigue" risks setting in.
-
September 15 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday’s political cartoons include publisher advice for Kamala Harris, the radicalization pipeline, and flu season guidelines
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
England’s ‘dysfunctional’ children’s care systemIn the Spotlight A new report reveals that protection of youngsters in care in England is failing in a profit-chasing sector
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
A Spinal Tap reunion, Thomas Pynchon by way of Paul Thomas Anderson and a harrowing Stephen King adaptation in September moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Spinal Tap II,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘The Long Walk’
