Neil Hollander's earnest documentary looks at the brutality of the military junta that recently ruled Burma (aka Myanmar), as well as the power of the country's drug lords. Hollander places particular emphasis on the government's campaign against ethnic minorities, such as the Karen and the Rohingya, which drove many families into camps across the border—primarily in Bangladesh, where the people were also mistreated. Narrated by Anjelica Huston, Burma: A Human Tragedy employs archival footage to present a brief account of Burma's history since becoming independent in 1947, but the meat of the documentary is interviews, the most powerful of which are with refugees in the camps, who recount details of the miserable, dangerous conditions they faced. Many exhibit wounds suffered at the hands of the Burmese army—often inflicted by landmines that the junta planted indiscriminately around villages suspected of disloyalty (elephants were also injured by the explosives, and some of them outfitted with experimental prosthetics). Interspersed throughout are excerpts from a conversation with Nobel Peace Prize–winning opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who calls upon the world community to pressure the ruling cabal to move toward democracy and secure justice for Burma's persecuted minorities. Hollander's film is already somewhat dated, since it was shot before the 2010 elections that led to Suu Kyi's release from house arrest as well as some modest reform. But it does raise the curtain on the humanitarian crimes of a regime that had long been almost inaccessible to Western scrutiny. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Burma: A Human Tragedy
(2011) 85 min. In Burmese & English. DVD: $24.95. CAV Distributing Corporation (avail. from most distributors). Volume 27, Issue 6
Burma: A Human Tragedy
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