The documentary delves into the world of a young boy, Vrej, from Artsakh, a disputed territory that, since the fall of the USSR, has been fighting for independence and recognition as a free, autonomous state. Armenia and Azerbaijan are contenders for its ownership, each with different motives and ambitions. Armenia supports Artsakh's struggle by providing military aid due to the Armenian heritage of the majority of its population, while Azerbaijan strives to suppress any uprising attempts, aiming to expand its borders. Vrej comes from a family that has long lived in one of Artsakh’s villages and his entire existence revolves around the narrative of liberation and the identity of their land, which belongs to no one else but those who have lived there for years and are fighting for it.
The director, Sareen Hairabedian, follows the life of the young protagonist over several years, and we watch him change, grow, hope, and become disillusioned. He starts as a child full of faith and resolve, certain of his beliefs, optimistic about the outcome of events. He sings songs of encouragement for the freedom of his homeland and shares his dreams with us. He dreams of becoming a dentist when he grows up, to fix the teeth of all the village’s residents. At school, they discuss the concept of a disputed state and its need to prove its existence. But for Vrej, things are simple: Artsakh exists and is a unique country because its people exist. Even if they are forced to leave, time and time again.
What stands out in My Sweet Land is that, although it focuses on the perspective of a young boy, it does not neglect to bring us into contact with other generations for whom the situation began long before the director turned her camera on them. Vrej’s grandmother lost her brother in one of the previous wars against Azerbaijan, which leaves her with a unique, silent melancholy, apparent even when her young grandchildren sing to her for her birthday. Vrej’s mother is frustrated but not very active, while his father spends most of the film conscripted in the war. The intergenerational trauma is present and cannot be healed until freedom comes, even though it might never arrive. Vrej grows, and his perspective gradually shifts. His dreams of dentistry crash against the reality of defending his country. Summer camp becomes a preparation for conscription, and, though only thirteen, he has already embraced the concept of death.
The director, through her beautiful shots combining the sky and nature with the modest homes of the residents, manages to convey a reality that largely goes unnoticed by the wider world. Through the moments she chooses to show us and the various facets of her protagonists, we come closer to a microcosm where war has become a way of life, a microcosm where it is not unusual for children to sing war songs, to make wooden weapons to play with, and to prepare to relinquish every part of themselves in moments of danger and threat.
This is told in a narrative that does not try to extract emotion or provoke sentimentality through scenes of violence and pain. On the contrary, the path chosen by the director allows us to enter the lives of these people and genuinely reflect on how war and constant anxiety have seeped into their daily lives, into their conversations, into what they learn in school, into what preoccupies them. Even Vrej himself realizes this, and his trust in the filmmaker who is constantly with him, documenting him, grows as the film progresses, becoming more trusting of and confessional with her.
My Sweet Land is an anti-war film which carries a kind of bravery rarely encountered. It does not take us to the battlefield or speak with soldiers fighting on the front lines. Yet, through its sensitive and gentle gaze, it makes the viewer empathize with what it means to face displacement, threat, and lack of freedom. And this approach is equally political. Because there is nothing more political than the personal, than how life is, how it becomes, and how it will unfold when it is no longer in your hands. When all you can do is wait for your sweet land.
Glykeria Pappa
