Green Border

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Green Border

Released Jun 21, 2024

2h 27m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

92 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so-called "green border" between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Finding themselves pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia, a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan, a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine. Thirty years after her Oscar-nominated film Europa Europa, Agnieszka Holland's poignant and essential Green Border opens our eyes and speaks to the heart, challenging viewers to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day.

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Critics Consensus

With unyielding clarity, Green Border renders a compassionate portrait of the unmerciful landscape that flanks the Polish-Belarusian border.

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J. Hoberman

The New York Review of Books

Similarly devoid of nuance, its moral reckoning accentuated by brilliant black-and-white cinematography, Green Border is a visceral ordeal and virtuoso tumult.

Jan 15, 2025

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

AWFJ.org

Green Border is not an easy watch, but it is an indescribably important one, and one of Holland’s most humane and compassionate works yet.

Aug 26, 2024

Full Review

Josh Kupecki

Austin Chronicle

Brutal, field-level depictions of trauma orchestrated by oppressive political structures seeking to manipulate the hearts and minds of some, while dehumanizing others renders Green Border an angry, visceral masterpiece.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 15, 2024

Full Review

Giuseppe Sedia

Kino Mania

Holland manages at the same time to pay tribute to the recent efforts of Polish population, border guards included, aimed at helping the Ukrainians since February 2022, as well as to denounce Poland’s and EU’s double standards for refugees

Rated: 5/5

Jan 21, 2025

Full Review

Jared Mobarak

Hey, Have You Seen ...?

You can't blame Holland for going for the jugular either as far as making that tragedy as horrific as possible since reality spares no one. At two-and-a-half hours, the script never lulls.

Rated: 8/10

Jan 10, 2025

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

A heart-wrenching on-the-grounds picture of what refugees experience trying to cross from Belarus to Poland and the European Union.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 9, 2025

Full Review

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Daniel B

What a waste of (a lot) of time. There is no story. Refugees have tough time at border, polish government doesn't help, nice poles do, The End. And black and white to boot. Snooze fest.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/18/25

Full Review

Lee R

Illegal aliens need to stay in their own country. If it is not to their liking then they need to work with others like themselves to reform it and not just run to another country.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

Full Review

Alec B

Yes there is certainly a lot of bad faith criticism directed at this movie but it does still narratively stack the deck in favor of it's viewpoint. This I think could have been avoided by narrowing the focus of the narrative. The film's early scenes work well for this reason as they effectively show the horror of human beings being used as pawns in larger political schemes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/25

Full Review

Roman P

I felt like I was there during the escape, my empathy was touched. It's terrible to see how people can be treated. But I have to ask myself if some scenes are underplayed or exaggerated. The drama shows the suffering and stress of the refugees and the struggle of the institutions around them. Ultimately, it applies a moral compass to a very sensitive international issue and raises the question of whether there should be a different approach of dealing with it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/02/25

Full Review

Sarah S

Thank you for making this film and telling the story of the Green Border. So important to understand what happens when walls are built and people are dehumanized.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/07/24

Full Review

Sam O

‘Illegal’ immigrant being the key word here…

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/12/24

Full Review

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Agnieszka Holland

Director

Jalal Altawil

Bashir

Maja Ostaszewska

Julia

Behi Djanati Ataï

Leïla

Tomasz Włosok

Jan

Monika Frajczyk

Marta

Green Border: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so-called "green border" between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa trying to reach the European Union are trapped in a geopolitical crisis cynically engineered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. In an attempt to provoke Europe, refugees are lured to the border by propaganda promising easy passage to the EU. Finding themselves pawns in this hidden war, the lives of Julia, a newly minted activist who has given up her comfortable life, Jan, a young border guard, and a Syrian family intertwine. Thirty years after her Oscar-nominated film Europa Europa, Agnieszka Holland's poignant and essential Green Border opens our eyes and speaks to the heart, challenging viewers to reflect on the moral choices that fall to ordinary people every day.

Director: Agnieszka Holland
Producer: Marcin Wierzchoslawski
Screenwriter: Maciej Pisuk, Agnieszka Holland, Gabriela Lazarkiewicz
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Blick Productions, Metro Films, Beluga Tree, Astute Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Polish
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 21, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 20, 2024
Box Office (Gross USA): $94.1K
Runtime: 2h 27m

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