This is an excep­tion­al film about the con­flict in Syria. Far removed from typ­i­cal war report­ing, the anthro­pol­o­gist Stéphane Breton fol­lows Kur­dish women sol­diers, how­ev­er not in combat, but while patrolling, stand­ing guard, taking a break, and prepar­ing for battle. The actual war remains dis­tant but is still present in the hard­ship, dis­ci­pline, and con­cen­tra­tion of the women. There is no trace of maraud­ing male sol­diers – these female fight­ers seem to be doing a better job. Their com­po­sure and com­plete­ly equal con­duct along­side their broth­ers-in-arms against the back­drop of a world in ruins prompts our uneasy admiration.
The film abstains from a taking polit­i­cal sides. Breton’s soli­tary work address­es the rela­tion­ship between what the camera cap­tures and the person hold­ing it. His films are not ‘about’ some­thing, but rather focus on the theme of seeing and being seen.