Green Border

Green Border

Green Border

Im from poland, and much as i love that our film industry can do some good work, this one tries to push the right message at the wrong time before this day and age a movie following refugees would have been about actual refugees who genuinely need help, but nowadays what we have is a surge of economic migrants abusing the refugee status simply to come to europe, and a movie like this comes across merely to make people feel guilty and turn a blind eye to the situation especially with our own neighbor belorussia deliberately trying to weaponize migrants in front of the media to make us look worse than them and their ally russia during this war they started i feel sorry for the small number of actual refugees caught up in this debacle who deserve help being overshadowed by the illegal migrants causing them a bad image, and this movie was made to try deceiving people by painting them all up in a more positive light.

This movie was very moving and showed complexities of illegal immigration from viewpoints of all parties involved. Despair of people fleeing their homes in search of safety and normalcy is palpable. Border agents are portrayed in harsh light but dealing with a stressful jobs , they are suffering too. Activists are brave and relentless in finding ways to help in any way. Movie was made in black and white, which made it look even more realistic and there are some powerful images throughout the movie that stay with you. Acting was great and directing superb. I watched it during AFI EU film festival and by coincidence with another great movie on immigration Il capitano. Highly recommend both of them.

First of all, I've to say that I couldn't watch the movie, up to now. I write this comment to complain about IMDb policy ! I really wonder how many one day comment accounts are on IMDb ? 70% or more on my guess ! How many times did I come to this site, for any search ? Thousand of times ! Usually I read a few comments, and in the same time check what did the commentator write previously. And you can guess what happens, so many time : only 1 comment in years... newly accounts... and so on ! Why is IMDb not cleaning its site from trolls and only one day comments within years ? My simple answer ? It doesn't care ! Made by two passionate people (if I remember well), the site became a huge enterprise, not really caring anylonger about movies, but mainly about cash ! Why not guys ? It's your choice ! Therefore to pretend IMDb has millions of accounts is both true and fake ! Sorry folks, you won't like what I'm writing ! IMDb is now only "business as usual"... Will this pass censorship ? I'll find out about how real is the 1st US amendment, "Freedom of Speech", at least on IMDb ! NB My rating is based on the benefit of the doubt. Once I'll have seen the movie, I guess I will write another real review, and possibly give another rating ! The stats for this movie, based on 15 "reviews", : 12 (!!!) were made by someone (?) who only wrote one comment and one total rating... (new accounts or old ones). 1 acc/review and 5 total ratings, within 13 years. 1 acc with 130 ratings, with one year. 1 acc with 2700 ratings, within a year. My little understanding and conclusion : 2 accounts are real... For the 12 or 13 left acc/reviews, I let you draw your own conclusion !

Agnieszka Holland consistently delivers. I adore this film, even though it was challenging to watch. It's an incredibly compassionate and empathetic portrayal! Every actor delivered a compelling performance, portraying real, authentic individuals entangled in a humanitarian crisis and political turmoil, all within a broader geopolitical context. The use of black-and-white imagery intensified the drama. Possibly, it resonates more with Poles, given our nuanced understanding of the political landscape and a deep familiarity with our history. The film leaves lingering moral dilemmas and unanswered questions, adding to its thought-provoking nature.

Even before the premiere of this movie, there was a lot of drama going on already. Everyone was reviewing it even though all they saw was a tiny bit of trailer. Sometimes, not even that. Even polish government started to make their own propaganda to make people believe it was anti-polish movie and all of that just so they could gain more voters before election that will happen soon. In some cities, it's even banned to be played in cinemas. That's how current government's world works and will work if they win again. No free speech, full censorship of anything that may be offensive towards government and many many more. But it's not about it. Movie itself is build on politics, so it's hard to not talk about them. Though, I don't think that Holland wanted to attack the army itself, as some of the people think she did, but rather the corruption and how government overused their power. How they forced people to act like there was no human rights, like those people on the other side of the fence were nothing. This movie isn't about letting illegal migrants into the country, but about respect and right treating. We're all humans after all, but what was happening on the border was really wrong. It's not a documentary, but a lot of things that happened in the movie had place in real life. There was a lot of videos, photos and even articles saying about those horrible things happening. And all of it just because of the government, who wants to make their own people scare and be afraid of other nationalities. Movie was also about our own feelings, how we see the world that surrounds us. It's always hard to say about things, that are uncomfortable, but true. But they have to be said and we can't just let those high positioned people get away with it without any consequences. That's not how this world should work. I was following the news back then and I'm really glad that such movie was made and is showing somehow the reality of what was happening on the border. But the truth is, what media were allowed to show us and what is the real truth of how it really looked like, is two different things and for people, who are open-minded those two things should matter to draw your own conclusions and based on that make your own opinion.

I loved the different perspectives this movie shown, at first tho i was scared that they would show all guards and people there as bad ones. It is not all black and white like that. There was some things that this movie omitted, but i think the message still is valid. We should all be treated in humanly way, you know. As a sensitive person this movie hit me hard, the pregnant woman scene, like WHO can be heartless like that. I am also big fan of french music, so i loved 'Mourir mille fois' in the soundtrack. Anyway, if u think about watching this movie, than i think its a great way of spending sad autumn afternoon. For sure you will think about this movie for a while. ( If you dont find feelings, emotions etc. Interesting than maybe dont go, cos you will not get the point and probably you'll be bored). Have a nice day people :)

At the begining i must say, i'm from Poland and i was very curious about this movie, as i was pretty familiar with volunteers stories, i had an opportunity to talk with few of them, a few medics and just regular people that wanted to help. Outside all the media coverage both private and national, i've read a lot of memories and interviews with people, both with volunteers' as well as the border guards and people living in the area. Some of them were really brutal, raw and just... sickening. This movie is something i wanted to check out, to see if all the criticsm in (mostly far right) media was justified. And i'm really happy i checked it myself. The cinema i was watching the movie in, was pretty much full, except for the first 3-4 rows, and the movie ended, everyone was just quiet. Like if everybody needed a minute to think. People only started talking in the main hall / outisde of the cinema. In my opinion movie mixes some of the real events with a bit of fake scenarios, some scenes were probably a bit exaggerated, but on the other hand, seeing photos and videos that were recorded on the real border, i think it's a good move by the creators of the movie. I believe that movies like "The Green Border" are highly needed in our society. Society that often listen to only just one side of the story, without even trying to hear what others have to say. That's what all the buzz surrounding this movie came from. Just a lot of people, that didn't even seen it, criticise it to gain something. Especially now, right before elections in Poland. Putting politics aside... It's just a good movie. With a very good acting, pretty good cinematography and remarkable importance for everyone, who's not aware of the humanitarian crisis, happening to this day at Polish-Belarusian border. To summarize... I think this movie is for everyone, who's not afraid of criticism of their beloved party, state services or his own morals. This movie may leave you with some heavy emotions, thoughts and it's deafinately not an easy movie to watch. But i trully belive, everybody should check it on his own, with open mind and being ready to hear and see uncomfortable truth.

This is arguably the most controversial European film this year and was targeted by the Polish government as being fascist because it showcases the fascist methods this government has employed. Director Agnieszka Holland, the most important living Polish director who won the Academy Award for the German Holocaust film "Europa Europa" in 1990, became the victim of a vicious trolling campaign. It's laudable that she took such a risk at age 75, but at the same time, the film is also extremely one-sided and juxtaposes poor helpless refugees and honorable Christian-minded activists with fascist Polish and Belarusian border police. The reality is, as usual, in the middle: Europe cannot harbor all of the estimated 300 million people at risk in the world, and the laws to regulate illegal immigration have been put at place to protect society as a whole. Angela Merkel - the most overrated politician of all time - did Europe a huge disservice by creating pull factors resulting in a permanent humanitarian crisis, which puts those who are tasked with enforcing the law under constant pressure. The film completely refuses to address this. By doing a Cinema Verité approach with a Good vs. Evil angle, Holland ignores the existential crisis the European Union is in (and which it most likely will not survive). The nod towards Ukraine in the end would have been an opportunity to point out the difference between those for whom political asylum is intended - war refugees - and those who are using the system for a chance of a better life far away from their corrupt governments. But Holland sticks to her images of noble poor and evil authorities. So while the campaign against her is odious, that doesn't make her agitprop simplistic film any better.