White Shadow Film Difficulty Ranking: 4
Maybe you’ve heard about persecution against people with albinism in Tanzania and other parts of Africa. Witch doctors believe their body parts will grant their customers prosperity so they’ve butchered some people with albinism for their magical powers. It’s pretty horrific. White Shadow follows one teenager with albinism as he tries to escape persecution and live a normal life.
From: Tanzania, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon, Kanopy
Next: War Witch, Beasts of No Nation, I Am Not a Witch
Why Watch White Shadow?
- See what life is like for people with albinism in parts of Africa.
- Become a roadside salesman.
- For brilliantly disorientating film-making.
- If you liked Beasts of No Nation or War Witch.
The Breakdown
White Shadow starts with dreamy shots of clouds floating in the sky as two kids talk about flying. One of them has flown before by mixing paracetamol with a special powder – dreams (facilitated by drugs?) are one way of escaping.
After the dreamy opening, we meet a person with albinism living in rural Tanzania. He goes about daily life – cooking, hunting, talking to his wife – but he never looks comfortable in his routine. Some local men are stalking him and watching his every move and he can feel them waiting for the right moment to pounce on him. It’s only a few minutes into the film when they strike with machetes, brutally butchering him for his arms and organs. In an area where albino organs are valued for witch doctors, albinism is almost a death curse.
After his death, the film follows his son, Alias, who also has albinism, as he is left with his uncle for protection and put to work as a road salesman in the city.
Disorientating violence
White Shadow is often disorientating to watch. The director’s camera is impatient and reality is never confirmed (as established by the dreamy opening scene).
Throughout the film, the camera is always shaking slightly. It gives the impression that the director is using a handheld camera which makes the film appear more ‘real’. As a result, when the brutal acts of violence against people with albinism take place, it feels more shocking because it feels more ‘real’.
The director also uses a lot of jump cuts in White Shadow. The jump cuts allows the director to tell the story a bit quicker, by cutting out time following the characters in each shot. It also means that we are seeing a lot more shots with less information in them. As a result, we have to try and piece together the short snippets of film to figure out what is happening.
When the shaky camera and jump cuts are combined with the sudden and shocking violence, we get an idea of how terrifying it is to have albinism in parts of Africa. The quick shots we are fed are like the ever moving eyes of a good defensive driver that scans the road for potential hazards. It keeps us wary of danger and prevents us from relaxing.
What to Watch Next
First up, I recommend following White Shadow with War Witch and/or Beast of No Nation. Both films follow a child soldier that is forced to kill and fight for rebels. Just like Alias in White Shadow, the protagonists in both these films are constantly on alert.
Or if you’d rather follow up White Shadow with something a little more calm, check out I Am Not A Witch. Like White Shadow, I Am Not a Witch follows an child pushed out of society because they’re different. However, unlike White Shadow, I Am Not a Witch is a satire and therefore a bit lighter to watch.
For another film featuring a character exploited and treated differently due to mutations, David Lynch’s The Elephant Man is well worth a watch.
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