I have to confess, I did fall asleep during this doco, but I think that was just because I was exhausted, not because there was necessarily anything wrong with the film.
I fell asleep in the beginning, which is frustrating because I was probably missing a lot of important contextual information for the rest of the film. In particular, I came out not knowing anything about the Themis of the title. Nevertheless, even without the contextual information this film actually made a very big impact on me in the end. I had previously had no idea about the situation of Belarus. Now I'm completely indignant - why didn't I know? Why isn't it on the news? Why aren't the Americans threatening to invade? Isn't this the kind of thing they normally take a keen interest in?
Belarus is a dictatorship. Lukashenko, their corrupt president, has been in power for the last 15 years. His opponents and those outspoken against him frequently disappear, or find themselves thrown into jail for years without trial. Belarus is pretty much a modern version of Stalinist Russia.
This wasn't necessarily a fantastic documentary in terms of narrative structure or style, but as a feat of human bravery, this was documentary amazing. It consisted of a lot of on-the-spot coverage of events in Belarus, with some narration by the author, commenting on the implications of these events. There were some interviews included - all were impromptu, adding to the urgency that came through everything. Some archival footage was used too, as the author drew comparisons between a convicted Belarusian psychopath and the president of the country. The danger of making this documentary was frequently evident, and I often found myself on the edge of my seat, holding my breath and inwardly begging the cameraman to turn the camera off and potentially save himself from being arrested or beaten or killed.
Lessons learned: Extraordinary footage speaks for itself. Sometimes film making and truth telling will put you into sticky situations, but sometimes they are the most important thing you could ever do.
I fell asleep in the beginning, which is frustrating because I was probably missing a lot of important contextual information for the rest of the film. In particular, I came out not knowing anything about the Themis of the title. Nevertheless, even without the contextual information this film actually made a very big impact on me in the end. I had previously had no idea about the situation of Belarus. Now I'm completely indignant - why didn't I know? Why isn't it on the news? Why aren't the Americans threatening to invade? Isn't this the kind of thing they normally take a keen interest in?
Belarus is a dictatorship. Lukashenko, their corrupt president, has been in power for the last 15 years. His opponents and those outspoken against him frequently disappear, or find themselves thrown into jail for years without trial. Belarus is pretty much a modern version of Stalinist Russia.
This wasn't necessarily a fantastic documentary in terms of narrative structure or style, but as a feat of human bravery, this was documentary amazing. It consisted of a lot of on-the-spot coverage of events in Belarus, with some narration by the author, commenting on the implications of these events. There were some interviews included - all were impromptu, adding to the urgency that came through everything. Some archival footage was used too, as the author drew comparisons between a convicted Belarusian psychopath and the president of the country. The danger of making this documentary was frequently evident, and I often found myself on the edge of my seat, holding my breath and inwardly begging the cameraman to turn the camera off and potentially save himself from being arrested or beaten or killed.
Lessons learned: Extraordinary footage speaks for itself. Sometimes film making and truth telling will put you into sticky situations, but sometimes they are the most important thing you could ever do.
