Title: Screamers
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: 26th September 2008
Label: Sony/BMG
Detailed Review
Genocide, the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group is one of the most horrible crimes you could possibly imagine and this film is a barred view on this topic in general with a special emphasis, pulled on the Armenian genocide, being the first systematic genocide of the 20th century, happening in 1915 and actually you should think that over 90 years after this indescribable massacre, committed by the Ottoman Empire, there should be some kind of acknowledgement or something. There isn’t. Still, the Turkish government denies that it actually happened. It’s like Mr. Ahmadinedschad claiming, the Jewish Holocaust never happened that it’s a fiction.
Now we meet the band members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, being descendants of Armenians who survived and accompany them. We’re seeing Serj Tankian’s
grandfather, being 96 by the time this film was recorded, talking about what happened back then in his home village, called Efkere, how he had to witness them killing his family and cleansing the entire village of Armenian origin, rapes and other sexual abuse took place. Old pictures appear, horrible scenes with half-rotten, dead people, lying spread across the ground. They weren’t even allowed to bury their dead, no matter if they were children or not - like waste being dumped somewhere to finally get rid of it. The band members are talking a lot about their families, about history and how they’re stamped by it. They experienced it through the eyes and the stories of their surviving family members and through their music, they carry the message out into the world, get into people’s minds to make them think and help. Music can be such a powerful tool if you just know how to use it the right way.But as you might be able to imagine, there are people who don’t to think about it, they don’t even wanna call it by its name ‘Genocide. Still there are governments like the US or the UK, who haven’t officially acknowledged it, because Turkey is strategically important and of course there’s always money in the game, paid to certain persons, sometimes in the well-known suitcases to cover the whole thing up. This film reveals the complete hypocrisy, ho w this topic is dealt with and that there were various chances in the past it could have been prevented, because all signs pointed to it, but hey who cares for the lives of millions of peoples from the past or the countless lives still being erases out there if they can have so much money. Economic interests were and are obviously more important and the killing continued. First it was 2.000.000 Armenians, then 6.000.000 Jews, Rwanda, Darfur, proved by shocking pictures and scenes and then you’re forced to ask the question why all this had and has to happen and when this is going to finally stop. When will they finally agree that this is unacceptable no matter what interests there might be? It has to be penalized
Conclusion
Frankly, this move has gotten under my skin. All these cruel pictures of dead people, children and adults, lying on the streets, burned alive or shot to death and I was bursting into tears. I couldn’t hold them back. I just couldn’t and still can’t understand why. How someone can give order to wipe out entire races, no matter what intention they might had, there’s no justification for such a crime. This is a film that should be seen by as much people s possible. It’s a hard movie no question, but it’s opening the eyes for what actually happened there and I do believe it really can achieve something.
Rating
Film: 10
Audio: 8
Video: 8
Extras: 7
Total: 8.3
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