Sonic Cinema

Sounds, Visions and Insights by Brian Skutle

There Was, There Was Not

Grade : A- Year : 2024 Director : Emily Mkrtichian Running Time : 1hr 34min Genre : ,
Movie review score
A-

“There Was, There Was Not” is play at NY Doc on Monday, November 18 at 6:45pm.

The land of Artsakh is a region that was once part of the Soviet Union, and- after the USSR’s collapse- became the center of a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. After a ceasefire in 1994, it was declared an Independent Republic, and for almost 30 years, it stayed that way. It is during that moment that Emily Mkrtichian’s documentary begins.

We see the Republic of Artsakh, and its eventual disillusionment in 2023 during a military incursion by Azerbaijan, through the lives of four women. The lives they’ve built. The ways they have taken up the fight for independence. The ways in which they pass their knowledge down to the younger generations. And the ways in which, when war breaks out, and they are displaced from their homeland, they try to hold on to the memory of it.

Most of us will never know the pain of being displaced from our homeland due to war or ethnic cleansing. The fact that it is a thing that happens throughout the world is a tragedy, and speaks to the violent nature of the human condition. Why is it easier for us, as humans, to accept violence against one another- or to at least threaten it- than to live in peace? There is a common humanity in everyone that should trump bigotry and hate, and yet, those are the easiest emotions to see on display across the world. So many demand fealty and subservience over acceptance and understanding, it is heartbreaking when we cannot recognize common ground that respects the lives of all. For the most part, this documentary is not about the war, but about the women’s lives before war breaks out, giving us insight into their humanity, and their strength, which will be tested as they take refuge in Armenia.

Mkrtichian’s documentary is tender, entertaining and insightful about these women, and the land they called home for generations. They are self-defense instructors (Sose), aspiring politicians (Siranush), a mother (Sveta) who helps diffuse landmines, and the founder of a Woman’s Center (Gayane), whom hopes to aid other women in working through past traumas. Sadly, all four will find themselves working through traumas themselves by the end of “There Was, There Was Not”- named after the phrase that starts Armenian fairy tales- in a story that feels like a story told by the Brothers Grimm. The resulting emotions are haunting, and hopefully have us reflecting on our own lives, and how precarious others are.

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