Agnieszka Holland’s astonishing epic “Green Border” presents the current refugee crisis from multiple points of view to illuminate the moral and emotional complexities of this hot button political issue. This film, shot in stark black and white, as if to magnify the gray morality and bleak experiences on display, is set in October 2021, in and around the forest between Belarus and Poland that separates the EU. It is the green border of the title.
Holland’s absorbing drama tells several intersecting stories. A Syrian family along with an Afghanistan woman Leila (Behi Djanati Atai), arrive in Belarus to cross into Poland and the safety of the EU. But situations occur that have Polish border guards, including, Jan (Tomasz Wlosok), send them back to Belarus. Meanwhile, a handful of activists try to help the refugees stranded in the forest get food, medical attention and to safety. After the activists meet Julia (Maja Ostaszewska), a psychologist who lives near the green border, she assists in their efforts and is changed by the experience.
