Midwives (Dir Hnin Ei Hlaing, 2022)
An insightfully sad and brave documentary about a forgotten country.
Some called it Burma, others Myanmar. Most won't find it on the map. Whilst Ukraine and Palestine dominate Western media, Myanmar is almost forgotten, the people suffering under a military regime whilst civil war is their terrible yet best hope.
As with mass killing everywhere, the majority don’t share the blame. Similarly, the hatred of Muslims in Myanmar is driven by politics. The average person seeks to feed their family and dares to dream of a better future.
‘Midwives’ enters a village where there was peace between Buddhists and Muslims, yet Buddhists are now forced to alienate Muslims lest they risk being killed as supporters of the 'enemy'. In this terrible situation, a Buddhist midwife is training a Muslim in her trade.
The documentary isn't a narration nor a Hollywood spectacle. It's a slow observation of silent desperation, the poor plight of women living with fear. It also shows the complicated relationship between the two women, so human in its contradictions.
I recommend watching as a double-feature with 'A Thousand Fires' which was released the same year. That shows the life of an impoverished, illegal oil mining family struggling to survive in the same country.