Word: chrysanthou
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Dates: during 1994-1994
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...film opens, Chrysanthou travels to the U.N. controlled buffer zone lying along the so-called Green Line which divides Cyprus into Greek and Turkish sectors Chrysanthou a film-maker and intellectual, is going to meet Kizilyurek, a boyhood friend who is now an editor of Turkish Cypriot literature and a political scientist associated with the University of Bremen. During his meeting with Chrysanthou Kizilyurek relates the difficulties that he encountered when customs officials discovered he carried three passports. The anecdote is a great symbol for the problematic nature of Cypriot identity...
...Chrysanthou and Kizilyurek are excellent company, and it's a pleasure to hear two such intelligent and articulate individuals discussing the phenomenon of exile and divided identities. One is reminded of Latin American intellectuals during the 1960s and 1970s. However, the film's conceit--two boyhood friends reuniting to explore their bisected country--is a tad pat. Chrysanthou and Kizilyurek's devotion to the structured format of their meeting, and the intellectualizing of the issues presented detract from the emotional immediacy of the film...
...turns to Charalambos Demosthenous, a flute-maker and priest. He relates how his son was killed during the Turkish invasion. As a memorial to him, Demosthenous planted a palm tree at the edge of the ocean. The film shows Demosthenous performing his paternal duty by watering the tree, and Chrysanthou and Kizilyurek make their own pilgrimage there, buckets of water in hand...
...image of the palm tree is the most significant one in "Our Wall," for it represents the message of the film. The young palm tree stands like a promise in a barren, isolated, dusty strip of land. Chrysanthou and Kizilyurek don't press the point, but it is clear that the palm tree represents the future of Cyprus as they would like to see it: acknowledging the memory of the past, but looking towards the future, watered by both Greeks and Turks, and someday bearing fruit...
...Chrysanthou and Kizilyurek have made an immensely affecting, courageous and visionary film, one which will surely stir up controversy. Their point of view is sorely needed if the situation in Cyprus is ever to be resolved...