A tone poem that is sure to beguile as much as it resonates, Basma Alshariff's Ouroboros is perhaps best described as a densely layered evocation on the past and present of Palestine, a film which is brooding with emotions as a filmmaker desperately attempts to express his internal turmoil through this visual medium. A portrait of the disenfranchised, Ouroboros is a film which often lingers between hopelessness and fortitude, presenting an environment in which liberty and freedom for Palestine and its people is a fleeting concept, worn down by the sands of time which have offered little promise for change. There is no freedom of movement, no choice for the youth, they are condemned to this place, entrapped, yet there still lies hope, despite living in an environment in which justice never comes. While the film is brooding with stagnation and pain, it's important to note that Ouroboros doesn't linger in despair but looks to the vast beauty of life as inspiration for the fight. Even in this place where the people's agency is restricted, Ourobros showcases the idyllic promise of romance, the intellectual stimulation of art and literature, as well as the visceral exuberance of sport, all aspects which invigorate the human condition; things which can't merely be taken through restrictive policies, violence, and/or oppression. Stylistically, Ouroboros juxtaposes the natural beauty of the region with the man-made dread, presenting many sequences in reverse order, as if to visually expressing the stagnation and lack of progress for the Palestine people over the years. Visually expressing the introspective nature of the filmmaker through it's brazen cinematic language, Ouroboros provides an impressionistic lens into the psyche of a filmmaker, exhibiting a plea for progress in the region in which he calls home.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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