Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country (2009)
Burma VJ (DAN) Directed by Anders Ostergaard
There are rare documentaries (Sorrow and the Pity; Harlan County USA; The Tittcut Follies; Shoah, et al) that contain subject matter so compelling and universalthat their importance as a teaching mechanism virtually eclipses any would-be conversation about structure, or for that matter any other technical detail one might normally critique when examining non-fiction work. Burma VJ (Video Journalist) is one such film.
Documentary film, like the best of written, photo, and tele journalism, has the power to advocate for politicaland social change. Burma VJ endeavors to provide a context for the grouping of footage shot during the protests in Burma that occurred mostly in September 2007. The unrest was originally brought on by a hike of some 500% in oil/gas prices in August that immediately caused massive hardship for the poorest of the country’s people.
Burma, or officially, Myanamar, has long been the subject of worldwide controversy due to a fascist military leadership responsible for countless human rights violations throughout the history of the regime. It had been almost twenty years since the country experienced any significant organized protest, a period replete with countless state sanctioned arrests, imprisonment, beatings, kidnappings, torture, and murders. This time also included the house arrest (for fourteen of these years) of opposition leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi, who has become a martyr of sorts for the Burmese people. In a country that spends less on public health care than any other in the world, there are 488,000 troops in Burma, and the Junta essentially maintain a constant police state that strictly outlaws all unsanctioned speech in any form.
The film centers on “Joshua,” one of the leaders of the DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma), a group dedicated to exposing the government’s many abuses by employing camcorders, the Internet, and satellite TV to shoot and smuggle the video out of the country. During the 2007 protests they were directly responsible for providing the BBC, CNN and multiple media outlets across the world with up to date evidence of the historical events unfolding on the streets of Rangoon.
With his face obscured, Joshua is filmed mostly in a single room where he speaks with various VJs and others by cell phone and email about the events as that are unfolding, mostly in realtime. Obviously, there was some creative license that went into the shaping of Joshua’s communication, which is clearly dramatized for the purposes of the film, but these kinds of details are fairly inconsequentialal when one considers the gravity of what is at work here.
The VJs are literally risking their lives as they film, and the danger escalates as they further expose themselves over repeated days. In fact, some will wind up facing life in prison for their “crimes”. The imagery they manage to obtain, though often shaky in quality, is compelling, with scenes of government sanctioned beatings and shootings occurring on the main streets of the city. There is a feeling of being there with the camera person as often they narrate what they are filming, including some harrowing moments when they themselves are in imminent danger of being exposed.
Perhaps the most compelling visuals though are those of the protesting Buddhist monks, who also risk their lives to take a stand against an unjust government. The sight of hundreds of maroon robed monks marching and chanting protest slogans, some holding overturned alms bowls over their heads, is one that is difficult to erase from the memory bank. With 400,000 in their ranks, the monks knew that they were the only ones with enough leverage to attempt to stand up to the oppressors.
The bravery displayed by the monks, students, and average citizen alike is an incredible thing. Given that 3,000 were reportedly killed in 1988, the last time the Burmese people took to the streets, there is no doubt in any of the protesters minds that they might be shot or thrown in prison at any moment. They march to speak for those who have previously died for the cause, for their children, for future generations, for their country.
This Academy Award nominated film, which is now available on DVD, is as important as anything one is likely to see this year or any other.