Story of tragedy, story of hope
Written by Writer on Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Story of tragedy, story of hope
Ikuko Kitagawa / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
4 stars out of five
Dirs: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine
Featuring: Dominic, Rose, Nancy
What if the stories told by orphans appearing in the documentary War Dance were actually spoken in the audience’s mother tongue? Their graphic descriptions about how they were forced to watch their parents being killed, or were forced to kill innocent villagers, are spoken in an unemotional, straight-forward manner. It could easily be overwhelming, but the subtitles provide some emotional distance from the subject.
Those children–Dominic, 14; Rose, 13; and Nancy, 14–are from the Acholi tribe, which lives in a refugee camp in northern Uganda. Since the fall of President Idi Amin in 1979, the country has undergone recovery and rebirth–except in the north, which is still ravaged by civil war. Over the past two decades, children in the area have been impressed into service by rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which kills their parents, burns down their houses and turns them into child soldiers.
In the movie, the three children speak to the camera in Swahili about their terrible experiences. They sound emotionless, numb to what they have gone through. But the words that come out of their mouths are strong and profound.
Their stories are only a part of the main theme, as War Dance actually is a story about how those children find happiness by attending a nationwide dance and singing contest. The American directors capture the children’s energetic and motivated expressions as they practice hard to win the biggest competition, which is held in Kampala.
By effectively contrasting the festival with their tragic events, War Dance becomes a well-organized, engaging story rather than mere reportage.
Dominic practices the xylophone believing he’s the best performer in the country. Rose is a choir-girl who always remembers her father, who said she was a talented singer before he was murdered. Nancy, a dancer, just loves to dance as it makes her forget anything bad. Their performances are so amazingly good they could surely make a living as professional performers, as their songs and dance outshine their horrible pasts.
The movie, in Swahili and English, opens Saturday.
(Oct. 31, 2008)
