Afterward

Afterward is a deeply moving 2018 documentary that explores the complexities of peace, trauma, and forgiveness. Directed by leading psychoanalyst Ofra Bloch, this film offers a unique perspective on trauma and recovery by weaving together personal narratives of individuals affected by both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Holocaust.

In Afterward, Bloch delves into her personal journey of introspection, raising profound questions about guilt, justice, and the ability to understand the narratives and experiences of others. This exploration is stimulated by her own personal history. As a Holocaust survivor's child living in Israel, Block grapples with her past, the prejudices she had inherited as an Israeli, and her inherent biases against Palestinians. This journey inspired a mission to explore and learn more about the other side of the historical divide, consequently shaping the course of the movie.

The documentary serves as a showcase for the profound, touching, and sometimes harrowing stories of the individuals met along Bloch’s journey. Notably, the narrative stars Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian ex-prisoner turned peacemaker, who literally embodies the film's core themes of trauma and reconciliation. He attempts to deal with the loss of his daughter, who was killed in the conflict, by advocating nonviolence and establishing dialogues between Palestinians and Israelis.

While Aramin's story underlines the ongoing ordeal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the movie also renders an examination of the reverberations of the Holocaust, a scar in human history and an inflection point, especially for contemporary Jews. Bloch steers conversations that unfold the traumas traced back to this genocide, not only with individuals of her generation but also with representatives from the younger lot, presenting a wide range of perspectives.

Inspired to reevaluate her animosity towards Germans, Bloch travels to Germany to meet with victims, bystanders, and perpetrators that carry the weight of Germany’s past. Despite their disconnect from the events, the younger generation battles the historical guilt passed down to them. The director’s riveting and revealing conversations with ordinary Germans illustrate the country's struggle to come to terms with its dark history.

Bloch's film, however, is not a straightforward investigation of historical trauma or a simple plea for reconciliation. Instead, it's a nuanced portrayal of how inherited trauma influences both personal and political narratives, and how these narratives are often fraught with contradictions and complexities that defy clear-cut partitions of victim and oppressor.

Ofra Bloch manages to navigate these complexities, throwing light upon the power dynamics involved in terms of who gets to recount history and how the anguished memory of past large-scale violence tends to draw borders in human relationships. The exploration of these questions adds a universal appeal to Afterward, making it relevant far beyond the specific contexts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Holocaust.

The cinematic language of Afterward is as intense and sensitive as its subject matter. The film primarily relies on intimate tête-à-têtes between Bloch and her subjects, with Bloch turning the psychoanalyst's chair on herself, as much as on her interviewees. The segments are interspersed with cinematic visuals of Israel, Palestine, and Germany that range from the stark to the serene, adding another dimension to the narrative.

The true strength of Afterward lies in its refusal to offer straightforward solutions or preach peace. Instead, it initiates a conversation about the cost of peace, the burden of history, the necessity of self-examination, and the complexities of empathy and forgiveness.

In this thought-provoking documentary, Ofra Bloch manages to capture the confounding emotions that arise when silent prejudice is confronted. The fascinating narrative of Afterward is testimony to the adage that the personal is indeed political, unfortunately often ensnared by larger narratives of hate, guilt, and fear.

Afterward is a tenderly stirring film that unveils a deeply humane angle to subjects as inherently charged as historical trauma, conflict, and reconciliation. Through its heartfelt and cerebral exploration, the film incites viewers to reflect critically on their own deeply ingrained biases and the power of empathy, dialogue, and understanding in unraveling them.