Strands Best Films- Page 37 of 41

181

Reach Your Limits – Running 600km Across Bulgaria in 5 Days

Image result for reACH YOUR LIMITS BULGARIA

rEACH yOUR LIMITS Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Are you ready for a challenge? If you’re a runner, a hiker, or if you just like a good adventure, you’ll enjoy watching Kiril push himself to the limits in Reach Your Limits. His goal: to run 600km (375 miles) from one end of Bulgaria to the other in under 5 days. And if that sounds too easy for you, the route follows the Balkan Mountain ridge, with multiple peaks over 2000m.

From: Bulgaria, Europe
Watch: Trailer, Vimeo
Next: Touching the Void, Children of Heaven, MacFarland

182

The Cursed Ones (Ghana) – A Murder Mystery in Rural Ghana

The Cursed Ones Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Murder, witchcraft, corruption, and superstition. The Cursed Ones has a lot going on to keep you entertained for the duration of the film. If you’re looking for a story like the protagonist in this film, then watch The Cursed Ones for free on Flix Premiere.

Image result for the cursed ones

Why Watch The Cursed Ones?

To see that witch trials are still happening around the world (also see I Am Not A Witch)
If you love a good murder mystery
For a trip to a remote town in rural Ghana
Learn that the people are not always right (we are victims of fake news and scheming pastors)

The Breakdown

The Cursed Ones starts with a young pastor with a black eye listening to a tape recording. We hear that there has been murder in the town the pastor is from. It’s a flash forward, intended to get us quickly involved into the plot and watch on.

After the intriguing opening scene we get a lot of plot exposition. We are shown how one of the village hunters finds a young mute girl (Asabi) in the woods and brings her home. Then we follow Godwin, a journalist from the city, sent to cover the festival in the hunter and pastor’s home town. It’s obvious the town is remote. There doesn’t appear to be any running water or electricity and it’s surrounded by lush forests. It’s the perfect setting for a murder mystery.

Corruption in the Church & Witchcraft?

The director first shows the head pastor of the village talking to one of the villagers inside a pretty dark room. The lack of colour in the room, contrasted to the bright colours outdoors, makes the scene appear pretty ominous. It’s an early clue to the audience, that the head pastor should not be trusted.

In contrast to the head pastor, the young pastor is friendly and talkative, and is obviously committed to his teaching (he doesn’t leave his class to be interviewed by Godwin). Because of his popularity, he seems like the better fit for the head pastor role. As a result, the head pastor seeks extreme ways to control his congregation. He claims that the devil has found his way into the village and lives in the young ‘witch’, Asabi. He exploits the superstitions of the villagers to imprison Asabi, claiming that only he can save them if they kill her and continue to follow him.

The plot gets a little more complex when a witch doctor arrives on the scene and starts extorting money from the villagers to ‘protect’ their children from evil spirits. Whilst the head pastor challenges the villagers trust in this witch doctor, it later becomes clear that they have been colluding to extort money from the village. The whole story challenges the integrity of the church and gullible congregations.

Conclusion & what to watch next

The Cursed Ones challenges the integrity of the church and the gullible villagers that blindly follow them. They are both to blame for the murders and the witch trials. There’s a lot going on in this film, which makes the plot a bit busy, but will keep you entertained throughout.

For a more artistic portrayal of ‘witches’ in Africa, check out Zambia’s I Am Not a Witch. It features another young girl, who is accused of being a witch because she doesn’t talk. It dives deeper into the prejudices and strange superstitions.

If you liked the mystery element of this film, I recommend watching October 1. It’s a Nigerian movie that follows an old policeman trying to solve 3 murder cases in a rural town to help Nigeria achieve independence from Britain.

183

Hail Mary – Jean-Luc Godard + The Bible

What does a radical filmmaker do when the energy of the New Wave is fading? He makes a film about the Virgin Mary and Joseph to provoke controversy from the Catholic Church.

Hail Mary Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

So what does a radical filmmaker do when the verve of the New Wave is over? He makes Hail Mary, a film about the Virgin Mary and Joseph to provoke controversy from the Catholic Church.

From: France, Europe
Watch: Trailer, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: The Passion of Christ, Children of Men, Second Coming

184

Sleepwalking Land (Mozambique) – A Classic Novel on the Big Screen

Sleepwalking Land Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Have you read Mia Couto’s brilliant post-colonial novel Sleepwalking Land? If you haven’t and you love reading, you should check it out now. If you haven’t got time to read, you can watch the film which does a great job at translating the novel onto the big screen. Check out the film here (Amazon).

Why Watch Sleepwalking Land?

It’s quicker than reading the book (although I recommend you read it if you have time)
If you like post-apocalyptic style stories
To learn about the effect of colonialism and war on Mozambique
If you like magical realism (made famous by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

The Breakdown

Sleepwalking Land starts with an old man (Tuahir) and a young boy (Muidinga) walking down a desolate dirt track. We are not told who they are or where they are going, but we can tell they are in danger. Not because, they are being targeted, but because they are roaming a war-torn country. They hide in the bushes as a gang of men bragging about killing people walk past and then reemerge to find a burned-out bus full of dead bodies. They decide to remove the bodies and call it their temporary home.

If you’re ever read or seen Cormac McCarthy’s The Road you might recognise this environment. In both The Road and Sleepwalking Land there’s an old man and a young boy roaming a desolate land trying to survive. But contrary to The Road where we know the two protagonists are father and son, the connection between the protagonists in Sleepwalking Land is never made clear.

However, we get a clue to their past lives from a journal that Muidinga finds by the burned-out bus belonging to a man named Kindzu. Each day, they read an extra chapter of the journal and immerse themselves in Kindzu’s story. For Tuahir, Kindzu’s life probably reminds him of his past life, which he has blocked from his memory. For Muidinga, Kindzu’s life gives him a possible explanation to his past which amnesia has prevented him from remembering.

Conclusion & What to Watch Next?

Teresa Prata’s adaptation of Mia Couto’s film is a worthy of your time. The main problem it faces is cutting the novel into 90mins, so if you’ve read the book you might think that the film crams in too much in too little time.

If you want to watch more films like this with characters wandering through desolate landscapes check out the post-apocalyptic The Road, which is good but bleak. You should also check out the art-house film Mimosas following wanderers from different centuries through the Moroccan mountains and deserts.

Or if it’s great African films you’re after, check out Abouna from Chad, a story about two sons searching for their lost Dad. There’s also Timbuktu, an Academy Award nominee from Mali where you’ll see the effect of the growing influence of Islamic fundamentalism on the Malian town.

185

House of My Fathers – Civil War Trauma in Sri Lanka

House of My Fathers Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

If you’re looking for a heart warming Sri Lankan film with widescreen shots of the beautiful Sri Lankan landscape, you’ve come to the wrong place. House of My Fathers deliberately uses a narrower screen (as you’ll see in the trailer) to focus your eye on the trauma from the Sri Lankan civil war. You’ll meet one man and one woman,one Sinhala and the other Tamil, who are sent to an island together to find peace for the two communities. It’s a contemporary myth/fable full of dreams and visions.

From: Sri Lanka, Asia
Watch: Trailer
Next: Ahlaam, Sleepwalking Land, Tanna