The Translator

The beginning of the movie would have been completely indecipherable, had I not read the synopsis. Unfortunately, the film continues in that manner; instead of shedding light on the situation in Syria, it is assumed that the viewer is up to date and familiar with history. So instead of learning something, all I got was further confused. Even when focusing on the protagonist's story, it was difficult to believe the actor was a professional translator, because he simply did not do the job of translating back and forth. Then the plot further deteriorated: Why would any rational adult living in relative safety decide to go back into a civil war WITHOUT any exit strategy, support, idea of what to achieve there/how to go about it? Now we are at the level of actions of a 'typical stupid Hollywood hero' rushing in with guns blazing, but the only guns that are blazing are those of the enemy guards, and while that bit is realistic, it ruins the whole movie for me. The acting is good, the cinematography is fine, but the plot is stupid, not believable, frustrating to watch, not relatable, and the 'hero' is hard to cheer for, because of his inane, ill-conceived, impulsive actions that hurts/endangers so many others. I stopped paying attention at the end.

A Syrian translator who is an Australian citizen returns to his homeland to track down his brother. It's the middle of an uprising and he certainly has his work cut out for him. He's been targeted by the government when he mistranslated a phrase by a Syrian Olympic athlete, years before. He says "some" Syrians are saddened by the president's death instead of all Syrians. It's a taught, slow-burning drama, that I found pretty intense. Excellent acting and cinematography.