Those of us who live in so-called "western" and "civilized" cities always enjoy imagining the nostalgia of getting away from it all, owning a small hut in the mountains, living off of nature's gifts: veggies from the back yard, and meat from the farmhouse. Well, then there are those who live in those places that seem oh so nostalgic to us, and can't wait to get away from it all. They face the realities of rural life that so many of us day-dreamers tend not to include in our imaginings. And it also becomes hard for us to comprehend what is it about our stress-filled lives that these people want, that they would put their lives in danger and risk everything for entering another country and be part of that life. Then we realize the ignorant and arrogant lives we've been living: The luxury of taking survival for granted.
Films like "In this world" show us the journey taken in search for the promised lands. And we realize that the struggle for survival is common in every part of the world; it simply takes a different shape or form. The refugee's life becomes a story of adaption, rather than reaching a resolution. The idea of getting away from it all turns into realizing the lack of the void: that the frame of mind is what dictates what we want to get away from. Because it is so easy to find something to want to get away from, anywhere we live. Winterbottom's film captures these issues in almost documented reality of two brothers in search for the promised lands. It's almost as obvious of a reality right infront of us, as real and un-noticed as the image of the main titles super-imposed on a paint-peeling wall.
We see that we all are a refugee, running away from something, only to realize that we end up chasing a dream we will be running away from again later.
