¨We are
rebels. Respect your guns. They´re your new mother and father.¨
War Witch,
also known as Rebelle, is a Canadian film directed by Kim Nguyen that has been
nominated for this year´s Academy Awards for best foreign picture. It is an
enlightening film about the horrors that some children have to face in Africa
when kidnapped by rebel forces. Nguyen, who also wrote the screenplay, did it
in a very sensitive manner without relying on melodramatic or shocking moments.
This is more of a sensitive drama focusing on a character study of a young
girl´s life when forced to kill her parents and join a rebel army. The harsh
and violent reality of her life is softened by her innocence and supernatural
mystic powers. The film combines these two elements in such a way that it makes
the movie a much lighter and pleasant viewing experience. The addition of a
sweet love story between her and one of the kids in the rebel army is what
balances out the ultra realistic violence in her world with a touch of magical
romantic moments, such as the search for the white rooster which gives the
movie a much more lighter touch in midst of all the drama. The performance from
Rachel Mwanza feels so real and authentic that it makes the film work as we see
how this innocent girl´s life changes as she becomes a woman in the midst of
war. War Witch wouldn’t have worked if it weren’t for her unique portrayal of
this character. This is a powerful film because there is no denying these
things are happening in real life, and we need to put an end to this senseless
brutality. Kim Nguyen does a great job with the direction of this film by
adding some unique touches in the sound department, and the cinematography
works really well.
The movie
takes place in an undisclosed country in Africa where Komona (Rachel Mwanza), a
young 14 year old pregnant girl, decides to tell her unborn child the story of
her life. When she was 12, rebel forces raided her village and forced her and
other children to murder their parents and join them. They were all given guns
and prepared to fight for the Grand Tigre Royal (Mizinga Mwinga). She was the
only child from her village to survive an early encounter against government
army forces, after being warned by the ghosts of her parents to run. After
this, she was considered to be a War Witch due to her mystical powers. She
befriends another boy from the rebel army, who is also considered to have some
sort of mystical powers and is known as the Magician (Serge Kanyinda). Together
they decide to run away and hide at the Magician´s uncle´s home. He is known as
the butcher (Ralph Prosper) and is very kind to the young kids who fall in love
with each other. The Magician asks Komona to marry him, and she says that she
can only marry him if he finds her a white rooster, which is extremely rare to
find in that country. Despite the pleasant life she seems to be living, the
ghosts still torment her, and after a brief moment of peace the rebels are back
again to haunt her. Will Komona ever find peace in this senseless and brutal
society she´s living in?
War Witch is
only about 90 minutes long, which was perfect because it could have gotten
heavy handed if Nguyen had decided to expand the screenplay more. I really
enjoyed that he decided to include this world of superstition in the midst of
all the violence because it is a great part of the African culture which is
left out sometimes. Despite the violent world in which Komona was introduced
too, she also was able to find love although it was short lived. Nguyen found a
perfect balance between this horrific world and the magical romantic one that
Komona lived in. This will not win the Oscar, because Amour is a lock at this
point, but it still is a unique film that is worth checking out if you´re into
foreign films. I really enjoyed this film, although I wouldn’t call it a
masterpiece. It isn’t groundbreaking, but is worth seeing for the story and
performances alone.
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