''Last Men in Aleppo'' (in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
آخر الرجال في حلب) is a 2017 documentary film about the
Syrian Civil War. Written and directed by
Feras Fayyad
Feras Fayyad (born September 20, 1984) is a Syrian film director, producer, and writer. Fayyad best known for his 2017 documentary ''Last Men in Aleppo and his 2019 documentary The Cave,'' both films earned him critical acclaim and numerous aw ...
, produced by Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen, it documents the life in
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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during the war and particularly sheds light on the search-and-rescue missions of the internationally recognized
White Helmets White Helmets may refer to:
* White Helmets Commission, a body of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship
* White Helmets (Syrian Civil War), a volunteer organization in Syria and Turkey
** ''The White Helmets'' ...
, an organization consisting of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives. The documentary highlights the lives of three White Helmets founders,
Khaled Omar Harrah, Subhi Alhussen and Mahmoud as they grapple the dilemma to flee their country or stay and fight for it.
The film won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016.
Awards
The following awards were presented:
* Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – ''I Don't Feel at ...
in 2017 and was nominated for
Best Documentary Feature at the
90th Academy Awards
The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2017, and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was held on March 4, ...
. The film also won Best Documentary Feature Film at the 11th
Asia pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...
in 2017. After its theatrical run, it aired on the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
series ''
POV''.
Synopsis
Government forces loyal to President
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
initiate the military offensive to recover the city of Aleppo from the rebels, this triggers a humanitarian crisis in the city and its surroundings.
The film follows the day-to-day life of the White Helmets as they work to rescue survivors from the ruins of the city, also explores the debate between the humanitarian workers of leaving the city for good.
Reception
Critical response
''Last Men in Aleppo'' has an approval rating of 97% on
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 35 reviews, and an average rating of 8.06/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Heartbreaking and hopeful, ''Last Men in Aleppo'' paints an urgent portrait of war-torn Syria, putting faces on an ongoing and complicated conflict". It also has a score of 80 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
References
External links
Grasshopper Films: Last Men in Aleppo page''Last Men in Aleppo''at ''
POV''
*
2017 films
2017 documentary films
Syrian documentary films
Aleppo in the Syrian civil war
Documentary films about the Syrian civil war
Best Documentary Bodil Award winners
Best Documentary Robert Award winners
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