Last Updated on June 2, 2022 by ellen
Frontline Inside Assad’s Syria gives you a look into government-controlled areas of Syria during the war time. Since Marty has always been interested in the war in the Middle East, I thought this would be a great movie to enjoy this weekend.
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Frontline Inside Assad’s Syria
All eyes are on Syria as Russia’s military campaign intensifies, and as tens of thousands of refugees continue to flee the war-torn country for Europe. What is life like for those who are left behind? FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith makes a dangerous and revealing journey into government-controlled areas of Syria as the war escalates.
Starting in late July, Smith spent three weeks on the ground in Syria — from the central cities of Damascus and Homs, to the far South, to the Alawite heartland further north. As ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and Western-backed rebels continued to push forward, Smith sat down with regime supporters and officials who defend Assad’s actions and insist that his leadership will save the country.
As Smith sees firsthand, the regime’s PR efforts are sometimes surreal — from launching a “Summer in Syria” social media campaign promoting regime-sponsored art fairs, film festivals, and fashion shows as ISIS takes the ancient city of Palmyra; to opening a new luxury resort five miles east of the bombed-out remains of central Homs; to staging press conferences highlighting atrocities allegedly committed by anti-Assad rebels even as the regime drops barrel bombs on civilian neighborhoods.
The documentary is an unsettling look inside the perilous reality of everyday life in Syria, where the mundane – men playing games, bakers making bread, people dancing at a rooftop bar – exists side by side with the tragic. In fact, four days into Smith’s trip, one of his contacts was killed by mortar fire. And on his last day in Damascus, a man was hit by shrapnel and seriously wounded outside his hotel window in an attack by anti-regime rebels. The Assad government, in turn, responded with massive air attacks on several rebel-held Damascus suburbs.
We really found this movie fascinating. It was so interesting to see the war from both sides of the argument. It seems like everyone thought that the other side was at fault and no one had any idea how to fix it. What made me sad was that they see the US as part of the problem.
Frontline Inside Assad’s Syria is available now. The run-time of this program is approximately 60 minutes and its SRP is $24.99. The program will also be available for digital download.
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Ellen is a mom of a 25-year-old son and 30-year-old daughter. She is Grandma to one adorable toddler. In what little spare time she has, she loves to read, watch movies, and check out the latest toys and games.