Written by John Noonan
Value: $16.00
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irish film festival
cast:
Sami, Simon, Hashibara, Philip Dwyer
Intro:
…a very sad and compassionate movie…
What stands out most about Dennis Harvey’s The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp is how much hope and anger he packs into it. Average episode of a sitcom and not that long. Harvey quickly arranges his cards. The opening scribble advised how the Irish government had refused accommodation to 1,400 newly arrived migrants between January and June 2023.
The documentary is ostensibly about some of the migrants who have found themselves homeless on the streets of Dublin. We follow Sami, Simon and Hashibara as they hope life goes well. Simon is the optimist of the trio. Simon calls the stranger his “half-brother” and wants to show Harvey the world they’ve built for themselves in the alley behind graffitied boards and seats. It is clear that this group takes pride in the little they own and keep everything clean and tidy.
Despite their friendship and hope, the threat of isolation and violence soon looms over them. For example, before Harvey arrived, one of his subjects was chased down the street by a man with a knife who tried to break into the camp. Things come to a head when ‘concerned citizen’ Philip Dwyer shows up to film people on the street, purporting to highlight the injustices happening to the Irish people. Mr Dwyer, who describes himself as a journalist, has been criticized in the Irish press for cartoonishly vulgar acts such as kicking a dog and equating homosexuality with pedophilia, which would be laughable if it weren’t for his talent. Dew. Mr. Dwyer knows how to use his iPhone to stir up great anger.
Confronting Sami outside the camp, Dwyer watches as a group of like-minded men surround the migrants, and Dwyer reacts by swiping them with a pole. The video was widely disseminated by Mr. Dwyer on the Internet to his racist and anti-immigrant compatriots, and soon protests against the camps grew. Harvey spends time with his subjects, warning them of upcoming dangers and encouraging them to make the right choices.
Given the film’s title, it’s not a spoiler to say where the third act goes. And it will be hard not to sit by and watch the hateful violence on display. Harvey does not narrate the protests. He doesn’t need that. Many people’s actions are so blatantly offensive that it would be difficult to imagine how anyone could justify them. Certainly, there needs to be a larger discussion here about how some people are preying on the fears of people who have lost faith in government and seeking retribution. Because the policies are vague, these people need something tactile, like a refugee camp, to vent their impotent anger. Similar scenes are occurring in the UK and Australia. How to fix that isn’t part of this movie, but it’s probably for the best.
The Building and Burning of a Refugee Camp is a brutal, sad, and compassionate film that draws you into the worlds of two groups of people who under normal circumstances would never get along.
