Popular reviews

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  Review by 3la2 ★★★★★ 4

  Fuck subjectivity. It's a five
  I feel angry ,I feel sad ,I feel cold... But I feel kinda glad
  The fact that this movie was successfully made is something we should be proud of
  The fact that this movie had to be made is something we should be ashamed of
  Sudan is Egypt's neighbor ,We suffer the same oppression and dictatorship
  Our previous dictator ,The reason for almost everything wrong in our country today. died two days ago and had a glorious military funeral by our current dictator who still has at least 10 more years to go as a presi….. FUCK IT

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  Review by Mark M. ★★★★½

  Talking About Trees, a fascinating Sudanese documentary, follows four movie directors (Ibrahim Shadad, Manor Al Hilo, Suleiman Mohamed Ibrahim, and Altayeb Mahdi), so called members of a group called the Sudanese Film Club, as they try to open a movie theater in Omdourman, near Khatoum. It quickly becomes evident that this is no easy task in an Islamist-run country whose leaders for decades have made the public viewing of films a very difficult task indeed. The documentary explores the cultural ramifications of having an ultra-conservative regime suppress freedom of speech in a very nuanced fashion. All four directors made famous political films in the 1970s and 1980s that have since been banned, suppressing public discourse of societal problems. It was…

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  Review by Lester ★★★★ 2

  March Around the World 2020 #3
  Country: Sudan
  My List: boxd.it/4XogC
  Original Post: boxd.it/4vvjW

  We are the best optimists,
  because our hope was refined by the toughest kind of despair

  Wildly inventive, artfully shot, pleasantly elegant documentary that I think captures the societal, community-building effect of film as well as any movie about movies ever made. The grizzled industry veterans who try to keep the spirit of movies alive after decades of censorship from the government are so endearing you'll feel every stumbling block and celebrate every tiny victory like it's your own. Its pace is leisurely but compelling, reflecting the quiet but fiery passion of the subjects in focus.

  I'm sure if you asked every active user on this…

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  Review by Younis ★★★★½ 2

  لاسباب قانونية تتعلق بالحقوق حذفت الفيلم من قوقل درايف ورفعته على ميقا 

  Watch on mega 

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  Review by Chris Hormann ★★★★ 4

  My 2000th "review" on Letterboxd and it seems entirely apt it is this film. A group of diehard cinema fans and sometime filmmakers in Sudan try to put together a cinema screening in the face of red tape, indifference and an authoritarian regime. That they retain their humour and passion throughout is testament to the enduring power of cinema.

  I reflected on this when I think back over the past two years under pandemic restrictions, where we've struggled to show movies in our film societies and stage film festivals in cinemas in New Zealand. And while the restrictions we've faced are nowhere near the barriers faced by the Sudan Film Group here, the link is a common will to continue…

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  Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★½

  Fascinating in how it moves between the camaradie of the man and the idea of the labor necessary to keep cinema possible. As well in hoe it goes from the past to film memory, its importance and how fragile it remains. Often a dry illustrated concept, but a good one and the high moments are high.

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  Review by Vladimir ★★★★★

  على الله! في زاويتي مستكن، براد الشاهي قدامي والجو بارد، اتلملم على نفسي وبي مواري زكمة، ضيفاني هواجيسي وما به إلا بيالة وحدة، واسج في طواريقي وألحنها وألقى يدي تمتد للجوال كل شوي تبغى تكتب، الخاطر مرتاح والقلب مرتاح والبيت ضميته لصدري وهذاك ساكنة فيه، الدرايش مفتوحة والباب مفتوح ونسمة هوا تحرك كل شعور فيني وتاخذني لك، اصابعك بين اصابعي وقلبي على يدك، وجهك صراطي المستقيم ووجهي لك عبادة، شمسك ما تغيب وبدرك كامل، احوطك بيديني ونصير السما، تتلحفين بغيومي واتلحف بنجمك، احلم بمنامي اني بدوي غباه الليل وضيع جماعته طاح على ركبه وابتهل لربه رفع راسه ولقاك قدامه، لقيتك قدامي ودليتيني الطريق، صحيت والضحى منبلج، وصحيتي وإلتفتي لي، علمتيني عن حلمك ومسكت كاميرتي، صورنا مشاهد الحلم مثل ما وصفتيها…

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  Review by Sholee ★★★★★

  رثاءٌ للسينما من أربعة مخرجين أغُلقت دور عرضهم وقُتلت السينما لديهم وهي في مهدها، كان محركهم الوحيد الشغف والأمل لإحيائها.
  أُعجبت بإصرارهم لإنعاشها، رغم كل العوائق التي واجهتهم بقت لديهم تلك الرغبة الشديدة لعودتها.
  لا أعلم لِمَ شعرت برغبة في البكاء اثناء مشاهدته، ربما لمرور تلك السنين عليهم وما زالت رغبتهم تلك تتوقد في أنفسهم ويتحسرون عليها أو ربما لأني لم أحتمل رؤية الحزن في أعينهم وسماع حديثهم الساخر عن وجعهم وعجزهم عن تغيير وضعهم. 
  شغفهم أثر بي جدًا.

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  Review by Francesco Quario ★★★★

  The first Sudanese film I ever saw, it's only fitting that it's a film about the death of the Sudanese film industry. When asking why cinema disappeared from the country, the filmmakers lament the loss of their democracy, brilliantly visualised through the loss of the communal experience of cinema-going.

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  Review by Krautsalat ★★★★ 2

  There is unrest in the forest
  There is trouble with the trees
  For the maples want more sunlight
  And the oaks ignore their pleas

  The trouble with the maples
  And they're quite convinced they're right
  They say the oaks are just too lofty
  And they grab up all the light

  But the oaks can't help their feelings
  If they like the way they're made
  And they wonder why the maples
  Can't be happy in their shade

  There is trouble in the forest
  And the creatures all have fled
  As the maples scream "Oppression"
  And the oaks just shake their heads

  So the maples formed a union
  And demanded equal rights
  "The oaks are just too greedy
  We will make them give us light"

  Now there's no more oak oppression
  For they passed a noble law
  And the trees are all kept equal
  By hatchet, axe, and saw

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  Review by Laila ★★★★½ 2

  "إن الأفيال الكبيرة في سافانا الاستوائية تهاجر بعيدًا إلى مجاهل نائية لتموت بهدوء، بعيدًا عن الضوضاء والأحباب والضباع"
  وثائقي مهم يُشرّح الجثمان الضئيل للسينما السودانية وبرغم ذلك ستخرج بأمل لأنك ستراه على وجوه رجالها.

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  Review by grace b-p ★★★★

  these auteurist uncles now have a place in my heart forever 😭