【影片簡介】被上帝遺忘的孩子 Children of God

【正義思辨】篇 Ways to Justice 
 
被上帝遺忘的孩子
Children of God
 
 
韓國 Korea | 2008 | 90 min | 李承俊 YI Seung-Jun
 
2009 韓國全州國際影展最佳紀錄片
Best Documentary, Jeonju International Film Festival
 
一條通往死亡的河流,卻是他們生命的泉源……
 
尼泊爾的濕婆神廟是印度教徒最大的聖地,教徒們每天在巴格馬提河(流經濕婆神廟的聖河)的火葬場舉辦火葬儀式,引領死者上天堂。當火葬場的火焰冉冉升起,圍繞四周的孩童便跳入河中尋找死者遺留的錢幣或其它財物。
 
河旁的火葬場對教徒而言是聖地,對孩童們卻是遊樂場、家與討生活的地方。受不了貧窮的孩子便輾轉至城市的馬路上行乞,冒著生命危險在擁擠的路上乞討更多的錢,到手後卻全拿去買煙與強力膠。
 
鏡頭帶我們認識幾個泥泊爾家庭及孩子。濕婆神廟神聖的宗教儀式引領死者上天堂,卻沒有人關心這些在掙扎中求生存的兒童。孩童們天真的眼神,以及看似開心但挾著淡淡憂愁的歌聲,不禁讓我們深思,這是神的祝福還是遺棄?
 
Children of God explores the life of the children who live beside the Baghmati River in Nepal - on the sacred grounds of a Hindu temple in Katmandu – an area forgotten and ignored by the world, but considered the holiest and most sacred to the Nepalese people. The children are undeterred by the daily cries and wailing from the daily funeral ceremonies; instead they rob the corpses for food and dive into the river to grab coins used as funeral offerings by the mourners. Some risk their lives by begging while others fall prey to drugs and disease. The film exposes the social conditions of the suppressed Nepalese people through the plight of their children, where reverence for the old and dead far outweighs the care for the young and living. Experiencing their innocence and their hardship through songs, stories and heartbreaking living conditions, exposes the contradiction of the material world that rests upon perhaps the most spiritual culture on earth. Children of God will remind you of scenes from “Slumdog Millionaire” and is reminiscent of Charcoal People released by Vanguard Cinema.
 
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