5 Seasons of Revolution

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

5 Seasons of Revolution is a story about a girl named Lina who is an aspiring video journalist in her 20s finds herself already facing self-reckoning. Born in Damascus, Syria, Lina starts to report on the events around her until she is compelled to become a war reporter. Director Lina is able to capture an interesting observation of the harsh realities in Syria with good narration, pacing, and a different unique approach on journalism. This documentary has many interesting and well informed discussions about the political issues in Syria, consequences of being arrested, and the struggles of doing journalism work throughout the 5 Seasons Lina was going around. The presentation and sound design is really good as it helped to lift the narrative to feel nature.

Most of the interviews are pretty impressive and also pretty scary at times. Because the participants being interviewed are discussing some issues that are pretty chilling and disturbing. Director Lina really does a great job on exploring the issues in Syria and how the troubles are affecting people. Most of the editing choices are purposeful. However there are some issues as some of the pacing could have been improved. The usuals of deepfake were a little distracting but due to the circumstances of the film, it was understandable why they went with that choice but it was a little distracting at times.

Although it's flaws, it's an interesting watch that I would recommend.

Rating: B+