Birds of War

While working for the BBC’s Arabic service in London, Lebanese journalist Janay Boulos is put in touch with activist and photojournalist Abd Alkader Habak to cover the ongoing fighting in Syria. What starts as a purely professional relationship develops into something more meaningful throughout the following years. The pair fall in love, affectionately calling each other “little bird”, with Habak eventually escaping to London. In Birds of War, Boulos and Habak chronicle their own war-torn love story fraught with danger and uncertainty. It’s a story of love and hope that shows the raw humanity of those caught within war.

Composed entirely of footage the couple shot themselves alongside their text messages and voice notes, the feature is grounded with a genuine authenticity. Habak’s coverage enables viewers to see the aftermath of bombings, placing them amidst the wreckage of collapsed buildings or, in one distressing scene, inside a hospital under siege. The violence is omnipresent and strikes without warning. For as harrowing as some of these moments are, Habak’s footage also captures the unwavering spirit of camaraderie and defiance of the everyday people still in the city as he laughs and sings with friends, and revolutionaries chant in the street.

Although Boulos is over 2000 miles away from the fighting, her own footage echoes Habak’s videos. Not only are her concerns and fear for her husband’s life evident from the messages she sends, but conversations with her parents in Lebanon highlight the impact of living through decades of military action. The documentary likewise takes the time to highlight the beauty of each country, both to contrast with images of devastation and as a metaphor for their endurance.

The feature is primarily told in chronological order as it depicts key events that shaped the couple’s relationship. The main issue is the plot has a very loose structure, moving from scene to scene with little connection. By the time the pair are united in the latter half of the film, the premise that was driving the narrative forward has nowhere else to go as viewers follow the filmmakers in a new chapter of their lives.

Although framed as a romance, Birds of War is primarily a testament to the human spirit. Its love story angle may run out of steam towards the end, but its core messages of hope and defiance ring loud.