Movies

The films Syriana, The Last King of Scotland and Babel are all recent releases that have received critical acclaim. While each film addresses serious and dramatic issues, the stories take place in different countries, focus on different central themes and involve a wide range of very different characters. There are, however, common themes that connect each film to each other and also connect all three films to the films viewed at FilmAid.org. In viewing each film and seeing the film and pictures presented at the website, several common threads of humanity become apparent. The characters in the film come from different backgrounds, social classes and belief systems. Their paths throughout the films and the conclusions they reach at the ends are varying. But each film features characters that are forced to deal with issues of loss and death, misconceptions or discrimination, fear and violence. The characters confront and discover previously unrecognized parts of them. The most common thread between the three movies and Film Aids work is that of humanity and interconnectedness.

Babel tells multiple stories at once and introduces several characters intermittently. An Asian teenager copes with the loss of her mother and her feelings of alienation and being misunderstood because she is deaf-mute, Moroccan children face their fate after a seemingly innocent game goes horribly wrong, an American couple is brought back together after a tragedy while vacationing, and a Mexican woman reaches a crossroads in her life after a well-intentioned trip goes very wrong. The viewer is shown the differences between these characters  Moroccan farmers surviving in the desert, a Mexican immigrant trying to make a living while still connecting with her family, a wealthy Asian girl that feels empty in spite of her life of privilege and freedom  in stark contrast. At the beginning of the film they seem to have nothing in common and it seems impossible that a common thread could connect them. But as the story unfolds, it is apparent that they are all woven together by actions that each of them has taken. The concept of wrong place, wrong time affects each set of characters and they are brought together by circumstances that none of them have planned. The Moroccan boys shoot at the van the American couple is traveling in with the gun purchased from the Japanese girls father while the Mexican woman takes the American couples children with her across the border to Mexico to avoid missing her sons wedding.

They are all also connected by the theme of honesty. The viewer never learns what the American couple is fighting about, only that the man has been dishonest and lied to his wife. The Mexican woman and the children are abandoned in the desert after her nephew tries to lie to the border patrol guards when taking her back across the border, forever affecting her future and endangering the children. The Moroccan boys try to lie about their involvement in the shooting when they find out an American tourist was involved and Chieko initially lies to the police about her fathers whereabouts because she doesnt want to get him in trouble. They are all forced to be honest after lying, either by their consciences like Chieko or by threat of violence like the Moroccan brothers. In each case, they find their lives forever altered by the effects of honesty and lies. It was the filmmakers intent to illustrate how ones actions can affect people one has never met and will never meet as well as affecting ones own fate.

The Last King of Scotland is based on actual historical figures and events and takes place in Uganda during the reign of Idi Amin. A young Scotsman travels there to work as a doctor and is taken in by Amin and made his personal doctor. Again, the filmmaker illustrates the interconnectedness of people and the effect of ones actions. In this case, Nicholas allows himself to pretend that he doesnt know what Amin and his regime are doing to eliminate political opposition and even finds himself turning in one of Amins cabinet members to be interrogated. He repeatedly tells people that hes just a doctor and that he cant be held responsible for Amins actions or turning a blind eye to them. Its only when Amins paranoid fury reaches a woman he cares for and results in his death sentence that he realizes the consequences of turning a blind eye to the situation. This film made Amin and his regime more understandable by presenting him as a likeable character initially, then gradually revealing his true intent and violence. The viewer learns about the more human side of one of Ugandas most pivotal figures. There is also a theme of fear of authority in this film that is echoed in Babel. Amins security advisor and crew are allowed to kidnap, torture, and execute anyone that they feel is a threat to Amins rule, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths. The Moroccan police in the previous film use similar methods of violence and intimidation to coerce information out of citizens.

Syriana focuses on the Middle East and the battle for control of oil. In a style similar to Babel, the viewer is introduced to several sets of characters at the movies onset, and then comes to see how they are all connected by actions, intentions, and unforeseen life changes. The characters of Bob, Bryan and Prince Nasir all seem vastly different, but their lives are each affected by the role they play in the control of the Middle Eastern oil fields. Bob, a long-time operative for the US government, finds himself being tortured and then investigated by his own country. Bryan feels that he has sacrificed his son for the sake of a deal with Iranian oil barons. Prince Nasir is restricted by the custom of procession and rule by the first born son and fights to control the family empire to ensure a prosperous future for his family and country. This movie makes the complicated world of corporate mergers and international agreements and partnerships more understandable by showing the viewer how each person involved in such deals is affected in his personal life by the results. The filmmaker successfully illustrates the worldwide impact that control of foreign energy and the oil supply will have on each individual relying on it by making the characters involved human and understandable. Again, all of the characters are connected by their actions. The US oil corporations find out that the Iranians and Palestinians have made deals with the Russians and funneled money through Switzerland and the viewer sees how each character is connected to one of these places or people. This method illustrates the interconnectedness of people and the unforeseen result of actions.

Characters in each of the three films also represent issues faced by refugees seen in the Film Aid camp films. In each, there is a lack of basic public healthcare and treatment. Ugandas hospital is featured in stark contrast to the crude huts and skinny children living in the desert, and the American tourist goes for days without medical care because of political issues over airspace. There is a lack of education for children in each film that is also faced by the refugees. Women and children receive little of the critical care they require and children usually get no education and work for their familys basic survival instead. There is a general appreciation for the help and medical treatment given by aid workers, and for the education offered by Film Aid. The refugees have had their lives permanently altered by political wars, ethnic discrimination and culture clashes in their countries as most of the characters in the movies. The refugee films on FilmAid.org and the three movies all illustrate the principle that people are all human and all connected, regardless of who they are, where they live, or what they believe, and that we all have the ability to help or destroy one another.