I started watching this after zapping through like 10+ slick Hollywood movies on Netflx's trending suggestions. I've seen all the usual comic-book inspired movies, and other mainstream movies. But am getting a bit saturated with them. Looking at other offerings - more drama like - they started of good, but I couldn't get through them after about a quarter way through. Some were too art-house - blaberring 1st-world problems - yacking away at frivirolous things that were supposed to be funny. Some tried to be dramatic and overly dark - oh yes, those dark treatment of classic stories especcially fairy tales. C'mon can we leave our childhood alone already.
Then I came across this title. The autoplay of Netflix looks interesting, and I started watching. It definitely gripped me as I watched it, eventhough it was at times dragging. There were many arcs, storylines that, in a Hollywood movie would likely have been edited out to keep the pace of the movie going. There were some parts which were cliched, and you knew it was to contrast with the sadness that's about to come.
However, I still was enticed enough to keep getting through it. After the movie ended, it was clear that some scenes had to be shown, if at the risk of dragging, and prologing the movie to show descriptively the refugess situation with realism, and also of how a country (Syria in this case) descends into chaos.
The movie is authentic. The actors are dual lingual. They speak Arabic and English in mixed form. Being the middle class Syrians that they are, they are not depicted in the usual hijab covered demure helpless, if suppressed damsels. They are what many city muslims in Arab, and sadly what used to be more progressive and old midlle-eastern countries are like.
The usual religious stereotypes are refreshingly not in the movie, perhaps its because the director herself is from there. The movie concentrates on the plight of refugees experienced - even through a middle class, if not, elite Syrians such as the girls and their father who was himself a national athlete had to go through.
Watch it - I have new appreciation for refugees now.
Then I came across this title. The autoplay of Netflix looks interesting, and I started watching. It definitely gripped me as I watched it, eventhough it was at times dragging. There were many arcs, storylines that, in a Hollywood movie would likely have been edited out to keep the pace of the movie going. There were some parts which were cliched, and you knew it was to contrast with the sadness that's about to come.
However, I still was enticed enough to keep getting through it. After the movie ended, it was clear that some scenes had to be shown, if at the risk of dragging, and prologing the movie to show descriptively the refugess situation with realism, and also of how a country (Syria in this case) descends into chaos.
The movie is authentic. The actors are dual lingual. They speak Arabic and English in mixed form. Being the middle class Syrians that they are, they are not depicted in the usual hijab covered demure helpless, if suppressed damsels. They are what many city muslims in Arab, and sadly what used to be more progressive and old midlle-eastern countries are like.
The usual religious stereotypes are refreshingly not in the movie, perhaps its because the director herself is from there. The movie concentrates on the plight of refugees experienced - even through a middle class, if not, elite Syrians such as the girls and their father who was himself a national athlete had to go through.
Watch it - I have new appreciation for refugees now.