The Syrian family has managed to get to Belarus. From there, they crawl under the wire-lined border to Poland to seek asylum in the EU. Relieved, they relax. But Poland doesn’t want them, the border guards physically throw them back across the border into Belarus where they are then captured and forcibly forced into Poland again where they are beaten and sent back to Belarus in a strange geopolitical war.
75-year-old Agnieszka Holland has always asked difficult questions about politics and morality. It doesn’t matter if it’s in “House of Cards,” “The Wire,” or World War II movies, in her world, anyone can commit an atrocity under the wrong circumstances.
“Green border” is coming probably not getting the audience it deserves – a film about the refugee situation at the Polish border is a hard sell to even the most die-hard cineaste. Sin. Because the film is not only sharp social criticism, it is also an insightful portrait of man in an ambitious overall perspective.
Holland portrays not only the situation of the Syrian family, but also the young border guard whose unfinished house is constantly invaded by uninvited guests, and the psychologist Julia, whose meeting with a humanitarian aid organization changes her view of herself.
The film is based on hundreds of filmed interviews, which is noticeable in the level of authenticity. One could possibly object that the film’s hopeful conclusion is more wishful thinking than reality, but that may depend on how much of a cynic you are yourself.
That “Green border” is also beautifully filmed in black and white, making the action less tied to a specific time and place. The migration crisis between Belarus and the EU is here and now but might as well depict one then and there. History repeats itself, as you know. That the film has been condemned by the Polish government (which calls it anti-Polish) also feels like an echo from the past – which only makes Holland’s film even more urgent.