Unpromised Land is a short film written and directed by Damiano Rossi and starring up-and-coming actress Melixa… and, to tell you the truth, it’s rather difficult to encapsulate its plot in just one or two sentences.
We’ve been having a rather hard time writing a review for this film simply because there is a lot to say about it. This is not a conventional film by any means. It’s not even experimental or avant garde. It goes beyond that. Perhaps the best way to describe this film would be to refer to it as a “cinematic poem”, not too different from Terrence Malick’s works.
Much like Malick’s films, the film speaks to us through symbolic, almost hypnotic images that make us think about what the filmmaker is trying to tell us. And what is this, if not a reflection on the modern world? We are at a time of crisis. Between wars, genocides, climate apocalypse, and political madness, it’s hard not to fall in despair and to think about God and religion.
Now, this film is not about none of that. Not directly, anyway. The filmmaker himself has pointed out that this is a project of purely artistic and creative inspiration, and that is not trying to make political stands, but precisely because we are going through these trying times, it’s impossible not to make certain connections, especially with a title such as “Unpromised Land”. Most of us know what the words “Promised Land” mean. In the Abrahamic religions, is the land that God gave to His followers, particularly those who descended from Abraham. Also, as we all know, this idea has been the cause of several violent conflicts that keep present to this very day.
So, when we hear that title, it’s impossible not to make such connection, and the film certainly addresses it by featuring what we might compare to the Virgin Mary as she holds not a baby but planet Earth, covered in a certain type of scarf, thus inviting us to question ourselves… what is happening with the world right now?
Again, the film is not trying to make any political statement as such, but is appealing for something beyond that, and which is reflecting in our humanity and how when people are hunted and killed, is the entire world who is being hunted and killed. When someone suffers, is the entire humanity who suffers.
That said (and contrary to what this review might look like), the film is not about despair but empathy and hope. One of the filmmaker’s best decisions was to shoot this film in a beautiful location such as a forest and a river, thus creating an instant sense of peace and hope that makes us feel that even if people or the world itself is being hunted or in danger, there is still a way to overcome this and that, maybe, a new world or a new humanity will come from this.
Please know that this is just this review’s opinion and perception of the film and that, as happens with any piece of art, the experience might be different for everyone else and, who knows, maybe the filmmaker himself wanted to convey other ideas or emotions. But, in any case, we really encourage you to watch it and discuss it as it’s a very engaging and beautiful experience made by a truly poetic artist.
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