We need the power of art to help us imagine the unimaginable. Here Belgian director Philippe Van Leeuw plunges us into the hell of Syrians clinging together in the ruins of a Damascus apartment building, under constant threat of annihilation. The door is bolted shut with two heavy cross-beams. But they can't keep out the horrors. Any knock could be an enemy. These people are in harrowing vulnerability. At the core is a family: the indomitable Mother Courage Oum, her young son and two daughters, her father-in-law, and her maid. They have temporarily taken in a young male cousin and the young couple from the ruined apartment upstairs, Samir, his wife Halima and their infant son. In the absence of her husband Monzer, Oum runs the show. Her courage, sensitivity and will make her the embodiment of what Syria - if any - might ever survive. The Syria of the people, that is, not of Assad. The film's effect is to reveal how horrible the costs that politics can wreak on a people. The film is shot intensely, with a handheld camera, covering the events of one day, with a tense throb of strings in the score. We feel the tension of the characters under siege. We don't know the politics of anyone here, not the besieged, not the snipers, not the rapists, not the helpers. But when a people are subjected to this kind of suffering, a city and a culture condemned to such ruination, issues be hanged. Nothing can justify such an assault. We share the characters' shocks. We expect to follow Samir and Halima in their flight to Beirut, so are severely jolted when he's immediately shot down in the parking lot. Oum calls Halima courageous, but warns her that she will become more courageous still. This the rape scene bears out, when Halima sacrifices herself to save the others. She believes Oum set her up as a decoy. That doesn't seem plausible, given how protective Oum has been toward her, but the suspicion typifies the distrust a civil war breeds even in such a close community. Oum's daughters grow up during this day. The older warms towards her cousin as he realizes a bravery even he didn't know he had. The younger daughter seems thoughtlessly selfish, squandering valuable water to wash her hair. But she realizes an astonishing moment of maturity when she begs Halima's forgiveness for wanting her to suffer in her stead. The film closes eloquently on the grandfather's profile. He has seen too much, lost too much, learned too much, so he sits there stolidly, staring out on the violent ruins about. Like a pulse he measures out his life in cigarette puffs, sending smoke out to the ruins. His face is blank so it doesn't say anything - yet says everything. We read into it all the emotions we have found in our glimpse into his crumbling life. Despite his helplessness, age and rotting guts, he maintains his dignity and his doting love for his grandson. But we see a tear gathering in one eye.

The home front...when home is in the middle of the sht. Excellent character study of life 'endured'.

"In Syria" is a feel-bad movie, and it should be because it's about the recent civil war in Syria and its effect on a small group of people holed up in an apartment...waiting and hoping for some escape. The problem is to even leave the place invites death from snipers. Other problems they encounter are rape gangs, low provisions and how to cope with the stress and boredom. It's all very difficult to watch...and very similar to movies made about the recent Bosnian civil war. But, also an important film because it exposes a part of modern history many of us rarely think about and which films generally avoid. Well made and worth your time. Just be forewarned...there is a very difficult to watch rape scene. Anyone who has experienced this sort of awful abuse might do best to avoid the film or watch it with someone for support.

'Insyriated' (its UK title), although not perfect, turned out to be one of the most unsettling (as it ought to be considering the subject matter) and powerful films seen in the cinema this year to me. It is a very good film, almost great in fact, that is deserving seemingly of a wider release.Visually, 'Insyriated' is highly atmospheric and startling. The cinematography keeps the viewer constantly at the heart of the action and gives a large amount of urgency while not going over-the-top. The editing is taut and adds to 'Insyriated's' unsettling nature, as does, and even more so, the sound editing. The lighting is haunting without being too dark. The sets are suitably confined, effectively giving a sense of claustrophobia. Philippe Van Leeuw directs with assurance and control of the subject matter, being more successful as director than as writer.Parts of the script are tight and provoking. The story is never dull and treats its subject with an unnerving quality that really wrecks the nerves. The horrors, tension and suspense are not dealt with excessively or sledge-hammer-like nor are they sugar-coated or trivialised. Yet it doesn't hold back and takes no prisoners, which was appropriate and throughout there is a clear sense of danger.The characters seem real and their conflicts easy to identify with every step of the way, even when they make misjudged decisions they also come over as meaning well which stops the viewer from getting frustrated at them. A great cast makes this possible, with the best performances coming from Hiam Abbass, Diamand Abou Abboud and Juliette Navis. The stages of the film where the truth of the events (primarily the shooting) is discovered are particularly well acted.For all those strengths, there are a couple of shortcomings with 'Insyriated'. While the script is generally tight and thought-provoking, there are times where it lacks nuance and subtlety which would have given the harrowing, hard-edged tone a little more dimension. But it's the score that is the biggest issue, very mawkish and far too low-key in instrumentation which creates a completely out of kilter tone with the atmosphere, when either a more robust, stirring approach was far more suitable, just as effective would have been for the film to have no score.Overall, very good and almost great which it could easily have been with a little more nuance and a far more appropriate music score. 8/10 Bethany Cox