Wednesday, May 21, 2008
DANCING WAR AWAY
Today's movie was the documentary
in which a refugee school in the war zone of North Uganda decides to participate in the national arts competition.
Four young people with horrendous stories are followed through the process.
The rebels recruited kids, killing parents and any others who got in their way. Many kids were forced to fight and kill.
The film follows an arc and narrative that is a bit too structured for my taste. Very controlled.
On the other hand, this is not so much about the past as the present and future. The kids 'revisit' their villages and talk about their experiences.
Then we see the rehearsals and buildup to the competition.
It is safe to bet that we have not followed these kids all through the process just to see then lose in the end. On the other hand, the finale is quite breathtaking.
During most of the film, the directors do not show much of the war dance that the kids will finally perform. We see bits and pieces, no costumes. They save it up for the grand finale.
When it is performed, the question of winning or losing is besides the point. These kids have already won. Their performance is breathtaking and there is no way that could have been 'fixed' or set up for the film.
It is quite exciting to see.
I will give this a 3 out of Netflix5. I am glad that I saw it and I would not want to see it again.
* The film is now titled more simply as War Dance but I like the original title better.
