War Witch

I attended a screening of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. The director was there and spoke of the tedious process of getting his film released. I am not sure when it will be open to the public but I hope it can come out in a not-so-distant future because it's definitely a must see.

Rebelle is not for everyone. It's hard to watch and may be too much for some. But what's so terrible about this film isn't what is shown. It's what isn't. The story is about a 14 year-old girl, telling her story to her unborn baby before giving birth. It spans the two years preceding the opening of the film, when the girl was abducted from her village by the rebel army and turned into a child soldier. As every step, something terrible happens. But somehow, leaving the theatre, you simply know that in real life, it may have been even more horrible.

I won't spoil anything but as you can imagine, as she lives with the rebel army, she is forced to do unspeakable things. She is somewhat protected by the leader as he believes her to be a witch. Throughout the film, she has visions of the ghosts of people killed by the rebel army, including her own parents. It doesn't seem unrealistic or made up. It makes the film just this more bearable to watch, as we're let into the mind of a child and her ways of coping with the events around her.

She befriends another kid believed to have special powers, a boy barely older than she is. As their relationship evolves, you find yourself within their own personal haven, their escape from the atrocities of the life they are forced to live. You understand why child soldiers do what they do, how a human being can be turned to commit inhumane crimes. From their adventure together, you will laugh at times and cry at others.

It's really hard to write about this film without giving away anything. All the emotions you will feel watching time come from the characters around the kids and the small things that happen to them that give them the strength to go on. The 'butcher' may be the best character in the film. His kindness to the children, his understanding of what they have been though and his acceptance of what they have become is incredibly touching.

It's a tough film. A beautiful film. A film that stays with you long after you've seen it. Most of the actors hired had never acted before but they are all fantastic. Rachel Mwanza in particular is unforgettable. I hope she goes on to have a brilliant career because she was fantastic.

If ever you have an opportunity to see Rebelle, take it. You won't regret it.

There are already a few pieces of movies with the same core reference to child soldiers in Africa. They all had one thing in common - they showed us an overall birds-eye view of what child soldiering was like. This movie appeared to be steered in a different way. It is not an overall picture of things, but rather a personal ordeal told from a strong-willed girl.

Aside from some of the the wishy washy 'voodoo' and romance elements of it, there are many things worth pointing out from this movie. The key attraction is of course the fantasy side of things which artistically fit very well into the overall story. But ultimately it is a heartwarming story of survival.

The style used in this movie reminded me of City of God, not because of whether it possess the same style or the gore behind it (well it was not that gory), but the music used and the tone of the setting are unique in its own way.

I expected much more from "War Witch". After all, it was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar and is about a very important topic, children who are kidnapped and forced to serve in evil rebel forces in Africa. I've seen several documentaries about this (especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda) and the films have been absolutely heartbreaking to watch due to the evil being perpetrated by these groups (such as the Lord's Army). Yet, inexplicably, "War Witch" seemed far less hard-hitting and interesting.

When the film begins, the main character (later dubbed the 'War Witch') is narrating about her life two years earlier. An unnamed rebel group in an unnamed African nation comes on a small village and they kidnap the children (who looked about ages 10-14) and they forced these victims to murder their own parents! Then, they are taken to a rag- tag rebel camp and indoctrinated. The rest of the film follows this girl's adventures--such as her strange ability to see dead people as well as her ill-fated marriage.

Considering how tough the film began, I was really surprised that over time the film just seemed to fizzle and seemed to lack direction. The film SHOULD have been a strong indictment of the evil forces on the continent that rob children of their childhoods but it got lost, a bit, with the ghosts, white chicken, marriage and other distractions. My advice--see one of the documentaries instead, such as "Sewing Hope".

I learned about this film "War Witch" because it was nominated for the Oscar in Best Foreign Language Film. It is in French and was submitted by Canada. It is not an easy movie to watch. It chronicles two years in the life of a female child warrior in civil war-torn Africa.

Set in an unspecified African village and country, Komona is a 12 year old girl who was forcibly abducted by rebels to be a child warrior among many other children in her village. She had a unique talent of seeing spirits of the dead, which gave her the distinction of being a "War Witch" and thus a sacred member of their band of rebels. Despite this, she would still live a harrowing life of constant violence and anguish. This would be interrupted by an interlude of love, but sadly it would not last too long.

We hear the story in Komona's point of view so we can share in her very thoughts through her narrations. Young Rachel Mwanza bravely and compellingly played Komona. We literally see her face age from the first time we see her on screen to her final scene. We see a child forced to mature beyond her years in the most brutal ways possible. As you watch this, you will be thankful you do not lead Komona's tortured existence.

The direction, screenplay, cinematography and make-up of this film are outstanding. The depiction of the dead spirits Komona sees are very effective in its simplicity. This film succeeds to bring the heretofore unknown hell as experienced by children in war-ravaged Africa into the consciousness of the rest of the world. Are you ready to see this hell?

This is not, by any means, a sophisticated film. It is slightly above amateur. There are two noteworthy exception first the acting of the lead actress and second a compelling story. It is the story of an African girl whose village is overrun by Rebels and then is forced to kill her parents and fight for these self same rebels. She is haunted by her dead parents throughout the film. First they warn her about the "government" soldiers who are laying in wait in the forest and then they begin to haunt her for not paying proper respect to their remains. This is the interesting part of the story, it mirrors Henry James's Turn of the Screw (in a simpler manner) and it is dynamically acted by the lead actress. The conflict runs throughout the film until she is ready to confront her burned out village and her parents remains.

The rest of the story is unsatisfying. There is a War Lord named Tiger who the script builds up to be important, but his character is never fleshed out. The same is true for all the other characters.

I watched it in its original language and then with the captions in English and much is missed in the translation. In other words the translation is really poor. I give it three points for effort.