Midwives

It’s easy to think of hatred in the abstract when you don’t see it play out in real life. That’s the most valuable lesson of Midwives, a documentary that studies life in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, where the Muslim minority is treated with unrelenting disdain, persecution and violence. While the movie brings attention to civil unrest and military persecution, its most valuable observations take place at the human level.

The film follows Hla, a Buddhist midwife, and Nyo Nyo, her Muslim apprentice. Due to travel restrictions, Hla’s clinic is the only one that members of the Rohingya Muslim minority are able to access. Title cards reveal that the UN considers the Rohingya one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, and that truth plays out in political demonstrations based around hate speech and descriptions of the Muslims as “terrorists,” even though they have scarce resemblance to fundamentalist sects.

The documentary contrasts the bleak societal reality with the serene beauty of the country. Aerial shots of the misty landscapes and hilltop temples provide scenic breaks from the struggles on the ground. Shafts of light cut through the dust and smoke. Candlelight ceremonies add poetry to the night.

But while these visuals draw in the eye, the real power lies in intimate character study. Director Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing has a gift for capturing quiet, melancholy moments on her subject’s faces, whether they be of pain, sadness, contemplation or exhaustion. She isn’t afraid to let the camera stray from the main point of focus, such as a conversation, to see an observer’s reaction to it. This can prove particularly effective when drawing attention to the marginalized Nyo Nyo. Her Buddhist companions don’t seem to care about how hurtful their language can be.

Their obliviousness can shift quickly to outright cruelty and racism, which cracks through the surface more and more as Midwives progresses. Hla proves the most troublesome subject. As the sole provider of care to the Rohingya, she initially comes across as heroic. But we gradually see more and more of her susceptibility to racism. One particularly chilling scene comes when Hla checks in on Nyo Nyo’s ill baby, and goes on a chilling tirade blaming the mother for the child’s ill health.

While it’s important to bring attention to the wider-spread government actions against the minority group, the film’s truly valuable observations are of how the prejudice impacts normal life. The more that racism and religious hatred is allowed to spread, the more it becomes a regular part of life and permeates those with good intentions. Once that happens, the only thing to fight for is hope that once day people might reconnect with their humanity.