ALI
dir. Adnan Al Rajeev  

The good short film is like a poem, it tells more about the world what it shows.

The poet's visionary confession presents the whole world to us in a novel, original light through a poem. Many people think - perhaps more and more unfortunately - that poetry is not needed anymore, that world events are explained by science, solved by politics and economics. However, they forget that the human soul, or rather the multitude of human souls, does not operate only on the basis of wealth indicators, that it cannot be satisfied only with goods and services. It is not possible to buy in a store the feeling - and here I am not thinking of happiness, which I think many people often use incorrectly - which means the fulfillment of human life. I believe that human life is complete when, - and the meaning of life becomes true - the individual fulfills the talent that resides within him, and can freely and proudly show it, and usefully for the community.

Ali is a film that presents with unabashed honesty the world where this does not happen, where a talent cannot show the miracle that resides within it, because the power of fear and habits is stronger. The film shows an unknown world with poetic images and scenes, an environment where even nature and man live in unity, and we would think that in this way, in a kind of naive happiness. At the same time, fear, the power of habits, is also evident here, and the talent of the main character cannot break through to the surface. People often encounter this. Talents are easily lost without proper support, training, and acceptance, and with this, not only the world becomes less, but also they themselves. Those in whom talent cannot surface often suffer, compensate, and suppress it throughout their lives. These strong emotions often give rise to aggression, self-harm, alcoholism, and drug use, which can ruin the lives of subsequent generations.

What about Ali? What will happen to him in a year or two or ten? Will he be able to fit into the society that did not allow his wonderful talent to show itself? I'm afraid not. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Ali committed suicide years later, but that's not what the film is about, and... it does well, because the miracle of this short film lies in the fact that it just starts a thought in me, a small spring, which then day after day, as I think about this film, swells into a river, branches out, creates islands, floods other thoughts, and works in me for a long time.

To formulate some criticism - I would say to the creator, give me more! Show me more of Ali's world, because I, the viewer, am very curious, I want to know more about this distant, ancient and close-to-nature world. I want to know more about Ali, his mother, his family and his friends. But I know that rhythm is important in poetry, and that an omission, an absence, often says more than a thousand words.

Review by Daniel Erdelyi

8/10