The Human Flow Documentary Report

Peyton Deffenbaugh

The thesis that Ai Weiwei, the producer of the documentary ​The Human Flow​ tried to
show was just how enormous the refugee problem is in our world, and how terrible it truly can
be. Many people don’t understand the number of people that are displaced from their homes for
reasons such as war or discrimination, and this documentary shows how common it truly it. Not
only that, it helps to show that these refugees are humans just like us, and it inspires the audience
to feel compassion and take action to help however they can. This can be shown in the many
personal interviews that he does when the refugees talk about how exhausting and difficult it is
to get through the intense migration, and the sadness they feel after their homes have been
wrecked.
1) Ariel view of the camps in Iraq to show thousands of tents and refugees staying
there in that bad environment.
2) Statistics written on the screen about the sheer number of refugees in places like
Iraq that were forcibly removed from their homes.
3) Up close film of hundreds of refugees huddled around fires in a cave on the
shores of Greece trying to stay warm after arriving by ship.
4) View of a village in Myanmar that was destroyed by war, and the many families
and people that were trying to live in the rubble.
5) Silent shots of hundreds of refugees migrating at once, with seemingly no
destination, on long paths and passing through difficult waters.
6) Videos of thousands of makeshift tents around the Greece-Macedonia border after
13 thousand refugees were stranded there after countries closed off their borders.
7) Footage of hundreds of people in lines at a refugee camp struggling to get food.
8) Statistic stating that there were 56,000 immigrants to show up in Greece after one
week.
This documentary actually hit me very hard and plucked many of my heartstrings. I knew
that there was a refugee problem, but I never knew how big. What truly hit me though, was how
much the director worked to show how real the immigrants were. There were a few silent shots
of the refugees just standing there so the audience got to observe them. In their facial expressions
and body language, one can find humanity and commonality that is in us all, which I find very
powerful and beautiful. This documentary really encouraged me to look at what really matters
and redetermine what God is calling me to.
The film also did a good job of showing the problem that the refugees face, and also the
problem that the countries face with taking them in. It proclaimed its ideals and feelings without
bashing one side or the other, which is difficult and very impressive. Overall I am a fan of this
documentary and I believe everyone should watch this.