Five Broken Cameras - Essay Example

Film Review. Five Broken Cameras. The documentary film “Five Broken Cameras” is not about the beauty ofIsrael. The author and the main protagonist of the film Emad Burnat is a resident of the Palestinian village and for several years he is systematically recording on video what was happening with him. The film was developed with the help of Greenhouse Audiovisual Project and directed by Guy Davidi and Emad Burnat himself. “Five Broken Cameras” is helping to understand the nature of the conflict, about which we already know a lot, from a completely new point of view. However it is not just the proof of political disaster, but rather autobiographical essay. In 2012 the film won prize in the nomination for best director in Sundance and was nominated for “Oscar” as best feature-length documentary. The documentary film starts with acquaintance with the narrator Emad Burnat, who experienced many events in his life, which he could name a “hot flame”. His life once became a mix of hope and pain. He made this film to “hold onto the memories” (“Five Broken Cameras”). For these purpose he had five cameras of different size. Each camera was filming one episode of Emad`s life. He was born in Bil`in – a village surrounded by hills - and spent all his life there. In childhood he used to work the land with his strict father and, like all urchins, he was not in delight of such activity. He wanted to walk with friend in the open valleys. Once he saw the Israeli survivors, which came to build a protecting wall in the middle of his family land, and his life changed. The first days after bulldozers arrival seemed hard for him. However, Emad has happy memories from this time too – his fourth son was born. The narrator bought his first camera for this occasion. We see the episode, how Emad is filming his family, his elder sons. Emad says that each of his boys was “a phase” in his and his wife`s lives and “each boy experienced a different childhood” (“Five Broken Cameras”). He notices his first son was born in 1995 “in the time of hope after The Oslo Peace Accords”. The urbanization came closer and closer during the childhood of Emad and the birth of Gibreel, his fourth son. This process was taken more and more territory for the purpose of movement of Israeli settlers. The newest settlement rapidly doubled its population, it took only five years for this and the barrier was finished to separate the settlers. The following minute we hear the sound of gun. “Soldiers are in the village”, says Emad`s wife (“Five Broken Cameras”). Emad notices that he had a kind of instinct to film the important events, happening in the village. He claims he was never thinking about making films, but due to his camera he is more and more often invited to the special events. We are shown the meeting near the barrier with the posters with the inscription “hands out of our lives”. It takes Emad some time to realize that people, who began to hit his brother, were special Israeli soldiers, and their plan was to “create chaos”. Some activists, including Emad, began to plan to hold demonstrations to protect their land from invaders. “We were born on this land and we`ll die here”, it was said, however the wall`s building was not stopped (“Five Broken Cameras”). Emad clearly remembers the day, when a gas grenade broke his first camera. He also injured his hand that time. This is the end of the first episode of the film. It was a time Emad did not have enough money for existence. He was made to love off the land, like many of his neighbors. His friend presented him his own camera to keep filming. Soon Emad`s brother was arrested, he was the first imprisoned man since the protests began. This year Emad is still filming his family, whom he loves, when at the same time his own city becomes a symbol of resistance in the world. This was the first frontier, when the soldiers shot person. Ordinary life is going. Emad says his eldest son likes to film him, his wife “loves working the land and picking olives” (“Five Broken Cameras”). Emad feels like the land is a connection link between all of them. However the land already does not belong to Palestinians. They can`t prevent the Israeli trailer`s location and are not allowed to place their own constructions. Our “actors” don`t give up – they brought another one and locked themselves in it. The result is the same – the second trailer is removed. Soon after the next demonstration Emad`s second brother was arrested. “An endless circle”, this is like Emad describes the situation, soldiers are destroying their outposts, and activists rebuild them. It caused the new conflicts and threats (“Five Broken Cameras”). The second camera witnessed the period of 2006 year before it was broken in such hassle. The life of the third camera is started on the third birthday party of Emad`s youngest son. This time Bilin was continuing demonstrating week after week. At one of such demonstrations the third Emad`s brother was arrested. The army forces arrive to the village more and more often. They try to prevent demonstrations. They arrested another Emad`s brother, and he was still thinking than filming will bring some results, have some meaning. From this moment soldiers come even at night. Their aim is to take kids to blackmail parents to leave their land. The movie shows us a children`s demonstration, such small copy of the adult`s one. We are able to see the soldiers shooting, the soldiers entering the house in search of children, several women, who bravely try to push them out of the house. The situation becomes more and more stressful. Soon it comes the time when Emad takes camera “to protect himself”. The soldiers came to his house and brought a resolution that “this area was declared a Closed Military Zone” and “anyone found in a Closed Military Zone must evacuate the area at once” (“Five Broken Cameras”). Emad was accused in throwing rocks and got imprisoned. His lawyer persuaded representatives of power to change the judgment into the house arrest. He gets free in the reason of the “evidence lost”. This was the last straw for his wife, and she tries to persuade Emad not to go to the next protest. He refuses and at this demonstration his camera practically saves his life from the bullet, which logged in it. This one had served nearly two years, being shot twice. Emad had enough strength to continue his way. He takes a decision to show his filming to encourage other villages for protesting from the occupation of their land. More and more people take flags and go to claim that Bilin is “a model of a new kind of resistance” (“Five Broken Cameras”). A bit later Emad notices they got good news: Israeli court takes a decision to reinforce their village to “dismantle a section of the barrier” (“Five Broken Cameras”). However the joy was premature, even a year later there was no physical evidence of the court`s decision. Emad felt dizzy, watching the land destroyed. The last images of the fourth camera were how Emad`s car crashed into the barrier. He got into Israeli hospital. Emad thinks if he would get into Palestinian hospital he would hardly survive. In 2008 Israeli is said to begin massive attack on Gaza. Emad had a problem of paying for his treatment. The Palestinian Authority did not consider his accident to be a resistance-related. So, again and again we are shown the soldiers shooting, attacking with gas grenades and people running, but still our “journalist” could not fully realize they all are going on the verge of death, until his friend was killed. It started an eruption of people’s patience. Emad is thinking about the children, who lost their childhood, about how they would deal with the appeared anger, meanwhile troubles become widespread. Three seconds were takes for bullet to achieve the camera. It was a mark of spring in 2010. It needed five years of pressure to the dismantling of the barrier according to the Courts decision. It was a small victory, but the village is now resisting another – constant – wall. The barrier can be removed, but sad memories are not able to be cut so easily. This is a sad story of human life and the struggle for the right to own land. This is the story of what human life should not become a war. Perhaps this is the main idea of this documentary is that his is a story about people who wanted peace. Works Cited Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi “Israel Palestine Conflict: Five Broken Cameras Documentary” Online video film. YouTube. YouTube, 29 July. 2014. Web. Read More