Refugee children fleeing war, poverty, starvation, disease, and desperately dying, grew up tenaciously in the dilapidated and chaotic streets of Lebanon. The scribbled life that no one cares about and the messy life that has suffered so much have already laid a sad background for "Why Home". Faced with the indifferent faces of children who deal with life's problems calmly, it is difficult for viewers to escape the compassion and questioning from their hearts. Who of us can give a calming explanation of the neglected and barren corners, of the mighty sufferings of life?
The director of the film, Nadine Labaki, did not try to provide an explanation for the audience. As a Lebanese, she used the camera to record familiar scenes, the chaotic streets, the desperate and helpless people at the bottom, and a large influx of people. of Syrian refugees and the resulting social chaos, and it is not a sociologist or international expert who can talk about it, but a child who is involved in it.
Zane, 12, who plays himself in the film, is also a Syrian refugee pouring into Lebanon. He and his family have been living here, relying on the bottom-level wisdom that has been cultivated in the struggle to survive. Because of poverty and marginalization, life is full of stress and obstacles, and parents who have long been desperate and numb have to keep giving birth, and then unable to raise them, continue to deepen their despair. As the eldest son, Zane firmly takes on the responsibility of protecting his younger sister. He shuttled freely on the crowded streets, dealing skillfully with adults, and his calm expression was followed by tenacity and optimism. Children face the pressures of life with simple and courageous faith, even in grief and joy, until the calculations of the adult world completely destroy them.
The most heartbreaking part is not the cramped and miserable life at the bottom, nor the wandering and parting of children in order to get rid of suffering, but the misunderstanding and crushing of innocence and kindness by adult society, and the fate that cannot be escaped after all kinds of struggles. The passage of Zane running on the street is not set in the script, but the action of the young actor who is too depressed and sad and let his emotions go after completing the passage that is close to reality. The director did not stop it, but immediately let the cameraman run with Zane, thus capturing the shaking and even blurry hand-held shots. These forbearance and objective recording shots add a texture close to reality to the film, making the audience feel In the calm tone, I felt deep compassion.
Of course, the sense of reality is not only produced by the camera lens. Many scenes in the film are shot on the spot. Streets, hospitals, dark alleys, and even prisons, the people who appear on the camera are all showing their true colors. The role of the lawyer was cut down to a few shots. Compared with the suffering in "Nobody Knows" and "The Thief's Family", poor Zane has a heaviness like falling into a quagmire, and his reflection also extends from the individual to poverty, war and even the development of mankind.
Through this emotional restraint and insistence on truth, even in a foreign country, we can clearly perceive the pain and despair of Zane and his parents, his attachment to single mothers, his love for babies, and his pandering and resistance to the adult world. . In Zane's world, "poverty" becomes an incurable disease, like the revenge of The Count of Monte Cristo, the plight of Les Misérables, it blocks all paths to happiness, destroys all that gets better possible. Of course, this is not the only direction of life, but if you really feel the same way, no viewer can scold the sad-faced parents or criticize the calculating adult businessman.
In reality, Zane gained international attention because of the film, immigrated with his parents, and obtained a normal life and education. But more children brought by the camera are still wandering the streets of Lebanon, helpless. After watching the suffering and grief, perhaps it is time to cherish the life at this moment from the heart, and be compassionate, face the challenges of future life steadfastly and tenaciously, and take positive actions to protect the civilization shared by mankind.
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