Review by Barbara Schweizerhof | epd Film | August 24, 2018
Hans Puttnies visited the ruins of Palmyra in the Syrian desert in 2008 and documented the site as well as the people who lived there — camel guides, traders, taxi drivers. He filmed „in long takes, as thoroughly and precisely as someone does who knows they will not return.“
The essay film uses this material, combining it with archival footage and YouTube videos, while Puttnies provides philosophical reflections in voice-over. The 70-year-old author and former university lecturer addresses Palmyra’s rediscovery in the 17th century and criticizes how Europeans reconstructed „their“ history in the ancient sites, passing over the local population „with colonial sovereignty.“
Puttnies shows how interest in antiquity and heritage tourism was paired with „ignorance of the actual, immediate surroundings“ — such as a notorious Assad-era prison nearby. The film does not merely mourn the destruction, but „offers plenty of impulses for thinking further“ about the connection between civil war and World Heritage.