Review: WE ARE THE GIANT, Revolution In The Face Of Fear

You say you want a revolution. But are you willing to remain peaceful in the face of violence? Are you willing to die for your beliefs?

Muhannan was a happy young man, according to the documentary We Are the Giant, directed by Greg Barker. Of Libyan descent, he was born in the U.S., and loved all things American. His father Osama remembers that when Muhannan reached his later teen years, he wanted to assert his own personality, and did that by moving to Libya. He joined the brewing revolutionary movement, and took up arms in his pursuit of peace, to the consternation of his father, who sympathized with the revolution but not the means that his son had chosen.

In Syria, Ghassan and Motaz are leaders of peaceful movements who believe that violence will only be answered by violence, with nothing meaningful resulting, especially not any change for the better. Instead, they advocate for change through peaceful means -- which is still met with an armed response by the authorities.

Raised in Denmark from a young age, Zainab and Maryam are sisters whose father is a longtime human rights activist. When the family moved back to Bahrain, the women were well-attuned to their father's principles and keenly aware of the oppressive rule, thus, as the so-called Arab Spring bloomed in Bahrain, they each followed in their father's footsteps, each in their own, individual manner. No shrinking violets, they are both strong women who are fully aware of the personal risks involved, and of the toll that activism can take upon them and their loved ones.

The stories are told in sequence, including a considerable amount of explicit, bloody footage in the wake of violent assaults. The interviews, some conducted by co-producer Razan Ghalayini, allow the half-dozen subjects to explain their motives and their changing perspectives as events unfold during very tumultuous times. Their sincere convictions certainly stand out; they are not blind devotees to a cause, but reasonable and intelligent people who refuse to stand on the sidelines.

Barker has not made an all-encompassing work that attempts to cover all aspects of the Arab Spring or of the individuals profiled. Instead, We Are the Giant sticks to a trio of stories, comparing and constrasting the different belief systems of the people involved and raising more questions than it answers. By doing so, it respects the idea that everyone is different in how they respond to revolutionary moments in time.

The film will be available via various Video on Demand (VOD) platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and GooglePlay, beginning February 10, 2015.