Sometimes documentary films do all the work for you, they tell you what to think, who to trust and who to be angry at. Other films simply allow their subjects to unravel onscreen. The Oath is perplexing, because it seems to be leaving it up to the audience to decide- taking an objective look at its subjects, but really there are quite a few buttons being pushed.
Abu Jandal is a taxi driver in Yemen, who also happened to have been, at one point in time, one of Osama Bin Laden’s bodyguards. His brother-in-law, Salim Hamdam is a Guantanamo Bay prisoner and Bin Laden’s former driver. The film explores these men who met in 1996, and whose lives were at one point bound by Al-Qaeda, but are now very different. Morally the film seems to be suggesting that these two men’s positions should be reversed; Salim should be free with his wife and children, and the media-courting Abu, a man still heavily influenced by Al-Qaeda, should be in captivity.
The Oath is a really intriguing portrait of just one of its subjects, Abu, who seems completely out-of-touch with reality. Abu is shown tutoring young Yemeni man in the ideology of Al-Qaeda; but really the men are treated to celebrity Bin Laden stories and inane moral musings about America, which they balk at as Abu scoffs down American made and owned soft drinks and confectionaries.
Salim’s story on the other hand is very under-explored, mainly because he seems to want nothing to do with the documentary. While his captivity is given plenty of screen time, his words are read during the film in voice-over and it is never made clear, who is speaking and whether these sections are directly from Salim, or have been taken from letters, he may never had intended for public consumption. As documentary-maker, Laura Poitras covers his trials and the perversion of American laws that keep him imprisoned, the film’s ‘heroes’ come out loud and clear as Salim’s American military legal defense team, who also happen to be the most straightforward characters in the film.
For all its faults, The Oath is fascinating, but as a viewer you are left with many questions about the films subjects. Given Salim’s reluctance to be part of the film, and Abu’s desire to be seen and acknowledged, the film is heavily skewed towards the charismatic attention-seeker. Who is Abu really? He is such a contradiction in terms, his posturing throughout the film switches from jihadists to reform criminal, is he really anything more than a born performer?
Waste Land (Lucy Walker: UK/Brazil)
This documentary from Lucy Walker (The Devil’s Playground) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley follows renowned Brazilian artist, Vik Muniz as he returns to Brazil from his adopted base of NYC. Having found success and financial security in the States, Muniz has come to a point in his life where he wants to give back. The place he chooses to start, is in Jardim Gramacho on the outskirts of Rio de Janerio, where 3000 people work as pickers/catadores on the largest landfill in South America. Stigmatised by the type of work they do, the pickers have developed their own community around what is the vital role of sorting recyclables from the 7000 tonnes of daily waste. Trapped by poverty, for most this is a job they have held since childhood, and the only viable alternative to the drugs trade and/or prostitution.
At the beginning of the film, Muniz asks if someone’s life can be transformed through art, and the journey this documentary takes in answering this question is both inspiring and compassionate; highlighting the strength of the human spirit and the potential beauty of the things society throws away, both people and garbage. The relationships that develop between Muniz and the chosen pickers for his art project, far exceeds superficial tags of artist/subject and benefactor/ recipient, making this film a joy to watch.
Waste Land introduces us to some of the catadores who participant in Muniz’ mix media project, these fantastic characters include; Jião, the passionate president and founder of the ACAMJG (The Association for the Pickers of Jardim Gramacho), Isis the cheeky beauty with a flair for fashion, Zumbi who is trying to start a community library with the books he salvages, and the stunning mother of two, 18 yr old Suelem. The film peeps into their lives by invitation and the filmmakers don’t outstay their welcome.
Covering topics from concepts of modern art to environmental concerns, Waste Land , with its exquisite highs and lows, is a story made to be told by documentary. This truly wonderful film is not to be missed.
