Jungle (2017)

Directed by: Hetty de Kruijf | 50 minutes | drama | Actors: George Tobal, Majd Mardo, Megan de Kruijf, Myrthe Burger

A visit to the (now vacated) refugee camp in Calais did not leave the impression on director Hetty de Kruif. She decided to capture the plight, where countless people do not know what the future will bring them, in a short film. At the Netherlands Film Festival 2017, ‘Jungle’ was nominated by the jury for best television drama and winner of the Golden Calf for best actors in a television drama. Rightly so, because together with a small but incredibly convincing company of actors, de Kruijf has delivered realistic and visually strong work.

The optimistic Benyamin (Majd Mardo) is of Syrian descent and ends up in the jungle, as the overcrowded refugee camp in Calais is called. There he soon meets the somewhat feisty Ibrahim (George Tobal) who reluctantly allows to share his tent: a five-star hotel Benyamin jokes. While Ibrahim’s confidence in escaping the dire situation in the camp is diminishing by the day, Benyamin is all but determined to stay long. His dream to make it as an actor and one day win an Oscar gives him courage. The jungle is just a stopover for him. London, that is his final destination. However, with the necessary help, several attempts to illegally cross the border seem in vain. Yet Benyamin, despite the danger to his own life, refuses to give up. A powerful plot in which connection, hope, but above all the search for freedom are central.

‘Jungle’ is gripping because of its authentic and realistic rendering: a cold and almost unimaginable reality in which refugees are forced to live in a tent on a muddy terrain and try to fall asleep in a winter coat to get through the cold nights, which De Kruijf without further ado has been able to portray it decisively. In order to somewhat soften the bizarre situation in which all refugees find themselves inadvertently and to make it bearable, Benyamin (between his escape attempts) entertains the many children in the camp with acting lessons. One afternoon he decides to watch his favorite movie ‘Gladiator’ with the children. An unsuitable film for children? No, the children have seen worse, according to Benyamin. It further emphasizes the seriousness of the situation and the impotence of refugees who – more or less like gladiators in an arena – just have to survive.

Largely thanks to (the dynamic interplay between) Mardo and Tobal, with the impressive ‘Jungle’, de Kruijf gives a voice to refugees who are looking for that one glimmer of hope.