There have been countless documentaries about the Middle East and the people that are living during the perpetual war. “Notturno” aims to be a little different than most of the docs. Instead of focusing on one point-of-view, the acclaimed festival film shows various perspectives shot over a long period of time.
READ MORE: ‘Notturno’ Is A Meditative Look At Middle Eastern Conflict [Venice Review]
As seen in the trailer for “Notturno,” the film showcases the work of filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, who shot the doc over the course of three years on the borders of Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, and Lebanon. Showcasing the everyday lives of the various people that live in those countries and how they all have to deal with wars and perpetual violence, the film paints a broad picture of what life is like.
As mentioned, the documentary comes from director Gianfranco Rosi. The filmmaker is no stranger to helming acclaimed docs. In addition to “Notturno” being the official Oscar selection from Italy this year, Rosi has also been nominated for an Academy Award for his 2016 film, “Fire at Sea.” That same film also took home the Golden Bear from Berlin.
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In our review of “Notturno” from last year’s Venice Film Festival, we were generally positive on the doc and said, “Rosi has crafted an astonishingly alluring film that lacks a firm point of view, treating each subject (including an ISIS soldier, at one point) with the same detached perspective. Like many of the characters, whose lives we weave in and out of, Rosi’s film exists in fragments, never adding up to a complete whole.”
“Notturno” will debut on January 22 in Virtual Cinemas before hitting VOD and Hulu on January 29. You can watch the new trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
Notturno, shot over three years in the Middle East, on the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon, recounts the everyday life that lies behind the continuing tragedy of civil wars, ferocious dictatorships, foreign invasions and interference, up to the murderous apocalypse of ISIS. Different stories to which the narration confers a unity that goes beyond geographical divisions. All around and in people’s consciousness, signs of violence and destruction; but in the foreground is the humanity that reawakens every day from a “nocturne” that seems infinite. Notturno is a film of light made of the dark material of history.
