‘Sorry about that. But I’ve apologised, so can we just move on?’
Apologies are the easiest thing to say, but sometimes the hardest thing to accept. Does an apology mean anything? After an event, are mere words ever going to make any difference? How can we make a sincerely felt regret really mean something? Historic events, such as slavery, have recently been brought back into the news, when governments have apologised for the events of the past, perpetrated by their predecessors.
Yet these things occurred dozens, even hundreds of years ago. No-one apologising today played any part. One of the most famous in recent times was when President Mauricio Funes, president of El Salvador, formally apologised for the massacre of more than 1000 civilians by the military, at the start of the civil war. During his speech, he cried. At the time it was seen as a brave attempt to make a meaningful apology, but did it really make a difference to the people?
Kristof Bilsen’s film makes an attempt to find out, as he takes his cameras back to talk to the people who live there now. The film moves on to look at wider attempts of dealing with the past and make reparations in a range of contexts and invites us to decide how effective they can ever be. Can the harm done ever be repaired? Is an apology given more for the sake of those giving it than those on the receiving end? The film develops into a fascinating discourse on how we can move on from traumatic events, and even questions whether it is appropriate to be an apologist for other people’s actions. There are no easy answers and we are invited to reflect, and make our own interpretations of the actions of those involved.
