Journey: Whether it’s the journey or the destination, films to transport you and shift your perspective
If you’re a boxing fan or simply a regular gym rat, you’ll be able to sympathise with Christ in Boxing Libreville. He’s a boxer who trains all day and works all night to try to become the best boxer in Gabon as the hope of a new political future builds in the background.
From: Gabon, Africa Watch: Trailer Next: Makala, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki, Fruitvale StationContinue reading “Boxing Libreville – Boxing for Freedom in Gabon”
Ever thought about going to Georgia? If you haven’t, you probably should (especially if you like hiking). In the meantime check out The Trader on Netflix. It will give you a 25 minute glimpse of life in a rural Georgian town connected to modernity by a ‘back of the van’ trader from the city.
First we’re introduced to Gela as he browses the stocks of various shops in the city he’s from. He’s looking for items to fill his van (his moving shop) before he drives into the country to sell them. As a trader, his aim is to pick any items his customers are likely to need or want, which he can then trade for a portion of the year’s latest potato crop.
It might sound simple, but it’s not. The village he drives to appears half deserted. The grey corrugated iron roofs match the grey skies and compliments the brown dirt ground. It doesn’t look like a place where you’d expect to make any sales. However, sure enough, a few residents and their kids gather round Gela and his shop (the back of his van) and start haggling with him for a few of his wares. After 2 days at the village, he ends up with a few kilos of potatoes to take home. Not a great crop.
But it could be worse, he could be one of the residents living in the remote village. He could be like the old man who regrets never getting an education. Or he could be like the young boy who has absolutely no idea of what he wants to be when he grows up, even after his mum prompts him to say ‘a journalist’. The place is completely devoid of dreams and full of regret.
Hard to say. Gela, the trader, is the only connection for this community to modernity. He is the only one who appears to make the trip to this remote village and give the population a market to sell their excess potatoes.
However, the market is tilted in his favour. The village community have to accept all the goods he brings to sell even if it is a load of useless rubbish. If they keep their excess potatoes they’ll only go rotten as it doesn’t look like they’ll have another opportunity to sell. Therefore they have to accept whatever Gela offers. So they’ll continue to buy second rate goods and as a result, their village never progresses as far as the contents of Gela’s van.
If a picture tells a thousand words, The Trader packs enough into it’s 25 minutes to constitute a few essays. Not because it’s complex, but because the dialogue and images so concisely document life in rural Georgia and the importance of one man, the trader.
If the rural town in this film struck you, I recommend checking out Kazakhstan’s The Wounded Angel, also set in a remote, hopeless town. If you’re into more arty film, there’s also Lav Diaz’s From What is Before which charts the effects of a dictatorship on a remote rural town in the Philippines.
Or, if you’re after more great documentaries, I strongly recommend you check out Makala. It follows the complete process of a charcoal maker from cutting down a tree 3 days walk from the nearest city to selling the final product (after walking for 3 days) in said city. It won Cannes Critic Week because it’s one of the most beautifully captured films you’ll ever see.
Meet Theeb and Hussein, two Bedoiun brothers living in the Arabian desert during the First World War. Their lives are relatively peaceful until an Englishman appears from the desert and drags them into the violence of the war.
From: Jordan, AsiaContinue reading “Theeb – Journey Back in Time in Jordan”
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Rent, Amazon Buy
Next: Lawrence of Arabia, Mimosas, Rabbit Proof Fence
When the Tenth Month Comes will move you. Other films may have better story-lines and better cinematography, but this one has the most vital ingredient: pure emotion. Watch it for free here on YouTube – let me know if you find it anywhere else!
When the Tenth Month Comes starts with a young woman named Duyen returning home. We first see her walking along a dirt road before she hops into a canoe to cross the river. Throughout the opening scene, her blank expression, partially obscured by her conical hat, makes it look like she’s preoccupied or not totally present. Whilst she’s on the canoe, she loses balance and falls in, losing a letter from her satchel. Combined with the dramatic opening music, it’s clear that she’s bravely holding back her emotions.
The story patiently reveals what has happened. First, we find out she has a husband who has not sent a letter to his family. When she is asked why he has not sent anything home, she never gives a clear answer. She says his duty as a Vietnamese soldier is keeping him busy. Whilst the answer convinces his family, the close-ups of her face do not convince us. It’s obvious she’s hiding her husband’s death from his loving family for fear of upsetting them.
Only one person finds out about the death of her husband, a local teacher and poet named Zhang. He agrees to held out Duyen by writing letters to her family signed by her dead husband to keep her family happy and excited for his return.
There’s one scene in this film that will stick with you. In the scene, teacher Zhang stops at a public theatrical performance with his girlfriend which the majority of the town appear to be watching. They watch for a minute before his girlfriend gets restless. But just when they start to walk on, Duyen appears on the stage and starts singing her part in the performance. Zhang, his girlfriend, and the whole audience are captivated as she sings emotionally for her lost love. Only us (the viewer) and Zhang know the pain she must be feeling, but she keeps singing the tragic lines of the song. In every line it feels like she is about to break down but she keeps singing for a few minutes until she finally breaks down and disappears behind the stage curtain. Pure cinematic emotion.
Some films are harder to pinpoint than others. The story line of When the Tenth Month Comes is a bit cliched and the music is often a bit overly dramatic, but this film succeeds where many of the greats don’t: it manages to translate raw emotion to film. As a result, it’s this transcendent portrayal of raw emotion is what makes this film one of the greats.
For more raw emotion I recommend checking out Umberto D. , one of the most emotional Italian neo-realist films. It follows the tragic plight of an old man trying to get by without a pension.
If it’s something more arty you’re looking for, check out Lav Diaz’s From What is Before. It’s a 5 hour 30 minute epic that charts life in a small village in rural Philippines under the Marcos dictatorship.
If you don’t know anything about Suriname, you should watch Wan Pipel! First and foremost it’s an ode to the beauty of Suriname, from the diversity of Paramaribo to the Amazon rain forest. Secondly, it’s also a commentary on prejudice, marriage rites, and post-colonialism. Check out the full film below (via YouTube)!
It’s the late 1970s. Suriname is now an independent republic after 300 years of Dutch colonialism. In Paramaribo (Suriname’s capital) a dying mother sends her eldest son Roy a telegram to come home from Amsterdam (where he is studying) to see her before she passes away.
Her son comes home to find his home country completely different to how he remembered it. In contrast to the stuffy Dutch society he is surrounded with in Amsterdam, returning to a vibrant Paramaribo reveals just how much he has missed his home country.
This is obvious in the tone of the film. In Amsterdam, he mingles with his white girlfriend’s family who crack bad jokes about Surinamese people as if he wasn’t Surinamese. However, in contrast, the mood changes right after his mother’s funeral when he is at home in Suriname. At this point, upbeat music starts playing and Roy gorges on all the street food Paramaribo has to offer. He even changes his shirt in the street, donning a top with the Surinamese flag branded on the front. It’s obvious he is loving being back in his home country.
Yup. You’ve probably seen many cheesy love triangles in films such as Twilight, The Notebook, and Pearl Harbour, but luckily for you, Wan Pipel is different. The love triangle actually adds to the film.
Wan Pipel is definitely worth a watch. You’ll feel Surinamese pride flowing in this film and all the effects of the country’s troubled history. Plus, it’s all available to watch for free right here.
If you are looking for more films featuring a rediscovery of how much someone loves their roots, check out Wallay. It features a mischievous boy who is taken and left in Burkina Faso with his Burkinabe family to work back the money he stole from his dad.
If you are looking for another post-colonial film, check out Cuba’s Lucia, which follows three characters called Lucia across different eras of Cuba’s history.
Or, if you’re looking for another good love film, here are a few great options we recommend:
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