Obet (2022)

Obet (2022). 1h 31m

“…of Romaphobia, but given how virulent this problem is, itu0026#39;s remarkable that a film about this subject has been made at all.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story is straightforward and simple: a Ukrainian immigrant mother (BEFORE the war) learns her son is in hospital with heavy injuries. Under police interrogation he alleges to have been attacked by three Roma, and the eldest son of the motheru0026#39;s neighbor is arrested (with whom she has a bad relationship). It quickly emerges though that the boy made up this story to cover up a silly accident. By then, the political engine is already running, and the mother finds herself receiving benefits for being a convenient victim of the threat Roma represent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the focus on the mother befits the story, there is no context, no explanation why the Czechs have this deep-seated hatred towards the Roma. The film would have benefited from giving the other mother of the imprisoned boy – the real victim – a voice.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe relationship between Czechs and Roma is so bad because of a sterilization program under Communism so the distrust of the Roma towards the Czechs is very strong. The Czechs do not accept them because they used to work in mines and were resettled as cheap labor from other parts of the Austrian Empire about 150 years ago. They became impoverished when the mines shut down so the Czechs consider them useless.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt would take at least ten films to properly explain this, so while the film is a good character study of a mother dealing with the consequences of her sonu0026#39;u0026#39;s lies, it is not a social commentary on racism, but rather accepts racism as a given.”