When war strikes a country/city with all its might, nothing is the same anymore. World War 2 is one of the biggest wars in world history in terms of the geography it affected and its consequences. Since it has a recent history, it is possible to see those among us who are still experiencing the difficulties of those days.
Last night, I watched a wonderful Russian film about World War II and its effects on the people who participated in the war and those who were wounded. Unlike many films about the war and its aftermath, it was not concerned with making heroes or giving a political or social message through the winners/losers of the war.
The film, which reflects the drama of war veterans and their caregivers, was quite long in terms of duration, but it did not have a boring effect. With a simple and calm narrative, they managed to reflect the difficulties of the lives affected by the war to return to a normal life after the war and that they will never be able to return to a normal life again.
You will not find the fast flow and abundant fight scenes in action, adventure and sci-fi films in this film. If you are familiar with films that contain only such scenes when it comes to cinema, the Russian-made film I mentioned is not for you.
The name of the film is Uzun Kız in Turkish dubbing. It is also known as Dylda and has a poster in English called Beanpole.
I experience ebbs and flows in my opinions about certain events. Sometimes I agree with an idea, sometimes I oppose it. Euthanasia is one of them. I think that since being born is not a choice, dying should not be a choice. The film Beanpole, while revealing that the determinant of such a radical issue is the conditions that have been and are being experienced, made me think that conditions are determinant in choices and that conditions can change thoughts.
For example, when we learn from news channels that 7 people were injured in a traffic accident, we are happy that there were no casualties, but we do not know how and where they were injured and how their injuries will affect their future lives. In matters such as wars, accidents and natural disasters, the measure is always based on the number of deaths. However, some injuries are worse than death.
The whole story is not only about the war wounded and their negatively affected lives! You see all kinds of bad aspects of the war in an unbiased narrative through the people who have seen the war from the closest side. As you witness the abuse of duty by a doctor whose duty is to heal, you wonder if he is right. You ask yourself the question and it inevitably makes you think.
Although I cannot approve of what the doctor and his nurse did, I cannot say that it was 100% bad. There is a tragedy within a tragedy; the way in which a woman, whose entire future was taken away from her by a piece of shrapnel, resorted to in order to have the child she wanted so much, causes judgement in my mind. But no matter how much I think about it, I cannot distinguish between right and wrong.
The 2019 film Beanpole is directed by Kantemir Balagov. If you are looking for an adventurous and gripping film with lots of action, don't watch it! If you are looking for heroes and scenes of marginalisation, don't watch it!
If you want to see how the aftermath of war changes the lives of those involved and how the traces of war can never be erased, watch! Starting a war is bad, ending a war is good, but the lives of those affected between the beginning and the end will never be the same again! Wars must end before they start.
