In The Land Of Brothers is a gripping portrait of resilience amidst intolerable circumstances. As writer/directors Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi skillfully shift between disjointed and contemplative narrative modes, this dramatization of Afghan refugees’ plight in Iran takes on a more universal message. Their dexterity within the medium helps the first-time feature makers create a substantially sympathetic portrait of people trapped by impossible events, individuals who strive to maintain hope, joy, and dignity with each challenge they face.
Organized as a triptych, this is the story of how an extended Afghan family endures a decades-long struggle to create a life despite having no rights as citizens. As refugees, they face a perilous and discriminatory reality. Since they exist on the margins of society, the very concept of home is called into question at every turn. The film establishes their strong interpersonal connections, their ties that bind, all the while making it clear that in the larger culture that surrounds them, they are always “the other.” A young family member experiencing the joys of first love runs afoul of the authorities simply for his outward appearance. A woman comes home to find her husband’s sudden illness has turned her family life upside down. An elderly man bears the weight of his son’s actions as he and his wife are swept up in the politically charged atmosphere.
The film is epic in its timeframe, but the directors’ acuity with form manages to keep its impact intimate. Amirfazli and Ghasemi’s focus on the lives of this family takes on a fascinating pliable quality as they toggle between the historical and the quotidian – within shots, within scenes, within the film overall. Structured as it is, the film moves forward, but each story is always commenting on the other stories. In The Land Of Brothers would not have the same dramatic and emotional pull as a strictly linear narrative.
Amirfazli and Ghasemi draw attention to the act of looking as characters watch characters. This becomes a primary trope. In one moment, there are stolen glances and furtive looks suggestive of love but suddenly, in another, there is the suggestion of violence. Through the film’s visual style, the viewer is drawn into this act of watching. The filmmakers draw the viewer into the story and the lives of these characters. Images are carefully framed, almost self-consciously, and, be they perilous or serene, they establish mood and context for what will follow. But this strategy can only hint. Events unfold in a manner which is often disorienting. The filmmakers augment the sense of displacement by putting the viewer in the same outsider position, as unaware as the characters about what is happening next. This is why when something unexpected and awful happens, it’s a piercing experience.
With such a process, the viewer is implicated. There’s not so much a plea for empathy here as there is a process of leading one into that realm. In The Land of Brothers offers a comprehensive insight into the tenuous and often dangerous experience of being a refugee. It’s a fragile state. Happiness may be fleeting, occurring in moments, but Amirfazli and Ghasemi showcase how these characters possess a strength there that adds to their unbreakable spirit.
Comments