In war torn Yemen, Layal takes care of her young brother while running a women only gas station. As her brother faces conscription, the age for serving in the army is 11, she plots with her estranged sister to save his life and prevent another martyr in the family.
This is a solid moving drama about the things we will do to protect the people we love.
Shot in a style that both feels like a slice of life drama and a suspenseful tale of a race to safety, the film sucks us in and makes it's tale not so much a cinematic adventure, but the true life tale of people trying to survive. And at this point I should mention the film, while based on actual events, is not representation of any one story, to the point that the various factions are fictious.
I liked this film a great deal. It's a film that has a story to tell and it does so in a deeply compelling way. By the time we get to the end, we are given a great deal to chew on with the final sequences of the film quietly pull the rug out from under us. The implications of getting bodies back long after battles, the fact there is no one to to help the women bury the dead and the plain of martyr's graves is much greater when you realize what that all means as opposed to the context of the sequences. It's a brilliant move that has the end of the film hit you hard after the end credits roll.
I was quietly rocked.
One of the best films I've seen from this year's Cannes, THE STATION is a film of quiet power and is recommended.
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