 Studio: Masharawi Fund For Films & Filmmakers in Gaza Genre(s): Documentary Rated: Not Rated |
Whether justified or not, there is little doubt that there is a heavy cost to war. Most of those hurt the most are the least involved. These are the stories that are told for generations to come, and I'm certain my grandchildren will be hearing stories from the survivors of the Gaza War when they go to school. "From Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza" is not a singular film by a visionary director, but rather a collection of short films that portray different experiences of those who are living through the closest thing to Hell on Earth anyone will know. While being sold as a documentary, not all of the stories are non-fiction by nature.
Most are, at the very least, recreations of true life stories though. The most obvious fictional short involves a girl walking through Gaza and having memories of dancers and competitions. There is also a short where a man attends to his daily work routine while bombers fly above him. This section abruptly ends with the filmmaker explaining that she had an ending in mind for what would happen to her character, but that she can't bring herself to finish the film after a family tragedy affected her real life. These are the most obvious examples of the non-fiction nature of the film.
There is also a short where a man is attempting to get rations and failing at virtually every step. Judging by the editing and camera angles, this one likely has a scripted element. I personally would have preferred these types of shorts be left out of the film, as it does muddy the waters a bit for the shorts that are undoubtedly real. The most intense of them involves a family member who is buried alive, struggling to breathe while his family tirelessly works to find a way to dig him out of the rumble while bombs continue to fall around the city. Shot with cell phones, it is a harrowing watch.
Other shorts seem to have a mixture of reality and staging. In one segment a man sits on the rubble of the house his fiancee and her family died in during a bombing, while he narrates what their life was like and what they were planning to do in the future. The narration was likely recorded first and then the visuals were filmed at a later date. Despite the use of a real cell phone recording near the end, I'm not certain this falls under the umbrella of documentary filmmaking. Does any of this matter? The stories are either real or inspired by real events, so does it matter whether or not everything is strictly non-fiction?
I suppose it depends on who you ask. Considering the selling point of "From Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza" is that these are real-life stories from the city, some wisdom probably should have been exercised to avoid concerns about falsifying information. At almost two hours, the film ends up being too long considering most of the shorts are between two to six minutes, and saving some of the segments that are of a more obvious fiction nature would have likely been better saved for the BluRay release. As a result, "From Ground Zero: Stories from Gaza" is likely best watched in small doses at home. That being said, it is still an emotional experience that hits the heart of the tragedy of war without bringing politics into the picture.
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