The Cave (2019 Syrian film)

{{Infobox film

| name = The Cave

| image = The Cave 2019 Syrian poster.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Feras Fayyad

| producer = Sigrid Dyekjær
Kirstine Barfod

| writer = Alisar Hasan
Feras Fayyad

| starring = Amani Ballour

| music = Matthew Herbert

| cinematography = Muhammed Khair Al Shami
Ammar Sulaiman
Mohammad Eyad
Samer Qweder

| editing = Denniz Göl Bertelsen
Per K. Kirkegaard

| studio = Danish Documentary Production
Hecat Studio

| distributor = National Geographic Documentary Films (United States)

| released = {{film date|2019|09|05|TIFF}}

| runtime = 95 minutes

| country = Denmark
Syria

| language = Arabic
English

| budget =

| gross = $191,703{{cite web|title=The Cave (2019)|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=thecave2019.htm |website=Box Office Mojo |publisher=IMDb.com, Inc. |accessdate=January 31, 2020}}{{cite web |title=The Cave (2019)|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cave-The-(Syria)#tab=summary |website=The Numbers |publisher=IMDb |accessdate=January 31, 2020}}

}}

The Cave ({{langx|ar|الكهف}}) is a 2019 Syrian-Danish documentary film directed by Feras Fayyad and written by Fayyad and Alisar Hasan.Brent Lang, [https://variety.com/2019/film/news/the-cave-feras-fayyad-syria-amani-ballor-1203325081/ "With ‘The Cave,’ ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ Director Feras Fayyad Returns to Syria to Find a Hero"]. Variety, September 6, 2019. A companion piece to his earlier film Last Men in Aleppo,Caryn James, [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cave-review-1234314 "'The Cave': Film Review | TIFF 2019"]. The Hollywood Reporter, September 5, 2019. the film profiles Dr. Amani Ballour, a physician in Ghouta who is operating a makeshift hospital nicknamed "the Cave" during the Syrian Civil War.Tomris Laffley, [https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-cave-review-1203325088/ "Toronto Film Review: ‘The Cave’"]. Variety, September 5, 2019. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 5, 2019.

Summary

In an interview, Fayyad said his purpose in making the film was to create documentary evidence that could be used to seek justice for innocent victims of the government crackdown on protesters during the Syrian revolution. "The film should put people in an uncomfortable position to look through the terrible reality around us," he said.{{cite web|website=CBC.ca|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-oct-28-2019-1.5337771/in-a-bunker-hospital-in-syria-a-director-made-it-his-mission-to-document-the-plight-of-innocent-civilians-1.5337808|title=In a bunker hospital in Syria, a director made it 'his mission' to document the plight of innocent civilians|author=Mac Cameron|accessdate=November 1, 2019|date=October 28, 2019}}

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews. The site's consensus states that "A hard-hitting documentary with imagery as powerful as its message, The Cave poses heartbreakingly urgent questions -- and leaves them for the viewer to answer."{{Citation|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_cave_2019|title=The Cave (2019)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}} It also has a score of 83 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-cave-2019 Metacritic] The film received the Cinema For Peace Foundation award for the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival.

Accolades

The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award for Documentaries.Jessica Wong, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/tiff19-awards-1.5284085 "TIFF 2019: Jojo Rabbit captures TIFF People's Choice Award"]. CBC News, September 15, 2019.

The Cave won The Cinema for Peace Award for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year for 2019. {{Cite web |title=Nominations 2020 |url=https://www.cinemaforpeace-foundation.org/nominations-2020 |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=Cinema for Peace Foundation |language=en-US}}

The Cave was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards.{{cite news|title=Oscars 2020 nominations: Full list of nominees including Joker, Little Women and Jojo Rabbit|date=January 13, 2020|publisher=Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2020/01/13/oscars-nominations-2020-can-expect-todays-announcement/}}