watch later

Not interested / seen

For Sama (2019)For Sama (2019)

For Sama (2019)

An incredibly intimate account of war

Documentary, War

best
THE VERY BEST

8.6

movie

Syria, Syrian Arab Republic
Arabic, English
Depressing, Intense, Touching
2019
Edward Watts, Female director
Hamza Al-Khateab, Sama Al-Khateab, Waad Al-Kateab
100 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.

Our Take

8.6
The Staff

This story of a filmmaker who stayed in Aleppo, Syria during the war, got married then had a child called Sama, is a mix of difficult and inspiring.

There are stories of unsurmountable loss, as the filmmaker’s husband is one of the 30 remaining doctors in Aleppo (a city of almost 5 million), and she films many of the victims that come to his hospital. But while this is happening, there are also uplifting stories of resilience and rare but profound moments of laughter and joy.

We’re growing too sensitized to violence in Syria, and this movie, possibly the most intimate account of the war, can stir back a much-needed awareness of the injustices that take place.

When things get really bad in the documentary, it’s hard not to wonder where the humanity is in all of this. You quickly realize that it’s right there, behind the camera, in Sama and her mother’s will to live.

Comments

What did you think? Who should watch it?

Next up

Sanctuary (2023)

best

8.4

An ingenious blend of erotic thriller and dark comedy with a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Margaret Qualley

Cette Maison (2022)

best

8.4

A heartbreaking but transcendent dramatic exercise that uses imagination to reckon with a devastating loss

Polite Society (2023)

best

8.6

This riotous mishmash of influences still feels utterly original thanks to some ingenious writing and a whirlwind central performance

The Stroll (2023)

best

8.5

The often neglected but deeply necessary story of trans sex workers, finally told in their own voice

Godland (2022)

best

8.3

A grand, terrific beauty of a film

Stan Lee (2023)

7.0

A charming introduction to the famous comic book creator with words from the man himself

The Village (2023)

6.7

The past haunts the present in this tale of loss and preservation of a village

American Pain (2022)

7.0

A jaw-dropping true crime documentary of how two bodybuilder twins got away with drug dealing

There Is No Evil (2020)

best

8.4

Director Mohammad Rasoulof questions the morality of the death penalty in Iran

All My Puny Sorrows (2023)

5.9

A deeply felt study of grief and inherited mental illness that struggles to state its ideas clearly