Directed by: Jehane Noujaim.
Jehane
Noujaim’s The Square may be about events that have been widely covered in the
past three years, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer fresh insight. It
begins in early 2011, when young Egyptians of all types flooded Tahrir Square
to protest the brutal regime of then President Hosni Mubarek – and continues
right through all the protests that will happen there until the summer of 2013 –
those against Mubarek, those against the military regime who took over when he
left, and those against the Muslim Brotherhood President Morsi – who won an
election and then gave himself more wide sweeping power than even Mubarek ever
had. To a certain extent, the movie is one damned thing after another – as the
same people get together to protest against brutal regimes who beat, kill and
imprison them – celebrate briefly – and then reconvene when it turns out the
old boss is the same as the new boss. Perhaps that sounds depressing – it certainly
is frustrating – but the film, more than anything, really is a document of
hope.
Nowhere
is that hope felt more deeply than in the opening scenes – when everyone seems
united by a common goal – getting rid of Mubarek. Noujaim and her
cinematographers go right into Tahrir Square along with the protesters, who
really do seem united. A few people begin to take over the narrative – Ahmed Hassan,
an optimistic young man with an easy charm, natural camera presence and who is
a natural speaker. Khalid Abdalla, an actor who some will recognize from The
Kite Runner or United 93, who comes from a family of Egyptian intellectuals
that have been living in exile for years. Magdy Ashour, a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood – although not as extreme as some in his party. These are the three
that the film returns to time again – along with a few others – and tells the
still ongoing struggle of the Egyptian people who want a new Constitution and a
democratic government. It seems like a simple demand – but it is anything but.
That
may well be because the protesters don’t ever seem to be able to agree on what
they really want. They are able to mobilize against the various regimes that
they do not like, but are too disorganized to seize power in any way. They are
basically used by those who are more politically savvy and powerful – the protesters
get rid of the old boss, and someone else sees their chance and swoops in. They
get rid of Mubarek – but is the military any better? They finally get the
election they want, and are stuck voting between two candidates most of them don’t
want. The new President gets in, and starts cracking down on religious
minorities, and gives himself dictator like powers. And every time, we see the
protesters head back to square to protest.
Noujaim’s
strategy is to put the viewer inside that square during all the protests.
Sometimes violence erupts, and we see disturbingly graphic scenes of men and
women being beaten, shot, run over, tear gassed, arrested, etc. Sometimes,
there seems to be moments of joy and hope – there are several scenes of Ramy
Essam – a singer-songwriter who performs often in the square for the
protesters. Always there is impassioned debate – often with Ahmed at the center
of it all, forcefully making his case. He is undeniably the sympathetic center
of the movie – and the film’s most hopeful character. No matter what happens,
he keeps coming back. The most complex person is Magdy – who becomes conflicted
when he sees everything the Muslim Brotherhood is doing – much of it, he doesn’t
necessarily agree with, but he’s bound to comply.
In
many ways, The Square is not over even when it ends. Already, Noujaim has
premiered two different versions of the film – one at Sundance in 2013, and
then when more protests broke out, she went back, shot more footage, re-edited
and the new film debuted at TIFF last fall (it is this version which got
nominated for an Oscar last week). Yes, in many ways, The Square is a
despairing film. The so called Arab Spring started off with so much promise
back in 2011 – and now, three years later, it is still pretty much chaos. But
as the film makes clear – progress can often be slow. As long there is still
protesters, I suppose there is still hope for the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment