a review by Jeffrey Overstreet
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It’s a nerve-wracking sequence-a young Afghan boy named Jamal (Jamal Udin Torabi) tries to escape his own dangerous, desperate conditions in a Pakistani camp so that he can find a future in a better place. London, perhaps? But first, he must secretly cross the heavily guarded border between Iran and Turkey by night in heavy snow. He peers down through the darkness, following the headlights of a patrol car. And then, shots ring out…
The excruciating intensity of In This World comes from the fact that everything is too real. Jamal’s adventures are filmed up close, through a video camera, in Pakistan, where these things actually happen. Those security checkpoints with the armed guards, those are real. These people trying to smuggle themselves out of the nightmarish conditions-they’re real people.
And some of their nightmares-this may be the most troubling thing of all-are fueled by the efforts of the United States to dismantle an “axis of evil.” U.S. bombings have left countless families in poverty, neglected, a hair’s breadth away from starvation and plague. Once you’re taken into their world, you’ll want to escape too. And if you are fortunate enough to make your way alive through an elaborate and dangerous network of “human smuggling,” you’ll find that the “free world” may not be as idyllic as you hoped.
Michael Winterbottom, who has made a wide variety of films (Jude, 24-Hour Party People, Code 46), put himself in some perilous situations to bring us this vital vision, to show us a story that news cameras tend to overlook. While brave American soldiers in the Middle East are making important strides, it is important for those of us visiting the rest of the world through DVDs to keep our eyes open wide, invigorate our consciences, and develop hearts of compassion for those who look at the “paradise” of the free world from afar.