civil war - FilmRoot

The Towrope (Colombia) – Can You Hide from the Colombian Civil War?

The Towrope Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Could you escape from the Colombian Civil War? Even in the remote parts of Colombia where The Towrope is set, the effects of the Civil War are unavoidable. It seems like everyone knows someone who has been affected by the conflict. However, the part of Colombia in The Towrope is like another world. Welcome to the grey skies and cold rain you don’t see on the Colombian guide books.

Why Watch The Towrope?

To see more evidence of the beautiful, diverse landscape of Colombia (for more evidence see Colours of the Mountain and Embrace of the Serpent)
See how the landscape becomes an extra character (like the sparse desert landscape of New Mexico in Breaking Bad)
Learn how the Civil War has permeated all parts of Colombia
See what it’s like to live in the remote countryside without electricity

The Breakdown

The Towrope starts with the silhouette of a limp figure hanging from a stake. It’s dawn, and the sky is so grey that it’s impossible to see if it’s a dead person or a scarecrow; either a sign of the civil war or a sign of fertility.

It’s not people, but the landscape that sets the tone of this film. The grey sky and persistent rain is not the sunny, hot Colombia that foreigners probably think of. The lake they live by is empty and quiet and not full of tourists or visitors. The landscape and weather defines the life of the locals. They have to continually fix their houses to withstand the weather and their movement and freedom is limited by the lake.

The gloomy weather compliments the dark backdrop of the Civil War. 19 year old Alicia arrives at her Uncle’s house on the lake after her hometown was destroyed by the Civil War. It’s not clear if her family have been killed or abandoned. Her Uncle reluctantly lets her stay with him but does not offer her much hospitality.

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Conclusion

This slow paced film masterfully builds tension. The sound of creaking floorboards and rain and wind battering the sides of the house ominously hint that trouble is nearby. All the signs of Civil War are around, but nothing is explained in any detail. It’s not clear how they have been affected by the Civil War and if danger is nearby. All we can do is keep guessing.

A Screaming Man – A Former Swimming Champ Blinded By His Pride

A Screaming Man Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you’re looking for a drama about a man blinded by his pride forced to look at reality, you’ve come to the right place. A Screaming Man follows former swimming champ, Adam as he lives a life he loves, working as a pool attendant at a luxury hotel. However, as Civil War looms, he’s forced to reconsider what he values most in life.

From: Chad, Africa
Watch: Trailer, JustWatch, Kanopy, Tubi
Next: Felicite, A Touch of Sin, A Man of Integrity

Men in the Arena – The American Dream in Somalia

Men in the Arena Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The American Dream doesn’t just exist in the United States. In Men in the Arena you’ll meet two footballers trying to follow their dreams in a country that has banned football. It’s a documentary full of hope and optimism for a better future for Somalia and the Somali football team.

From: Somalia, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Tubi, Kanopy, Amazon Prime, Rent on Amazon, Buy on Amazon
Next: Freedom Fields, Uncertain Future, The Eagle Huntress

Read The Full Review

Desrances – Pan African Film Festival 2020

In the opening of Desrances, Francis is out fishing when he hears gun shots from the shore. He races back to his family home to find his mother and relatives shot dead by insurgents in the 2004 Haitian coup d’état. It’s a traumatic totem he still carries approximately 15 years later in his new life in Cote d’Ivoire.

In Cote d’Ivoire, his life is normal. He has helped make a happy family with his wife and 12 year old daughter, and runs a shop with his father in law which provides him with enough to afford his nice sized apartment. His life gets even better when he finds out his wife is expecting the son he’s wished for. He’s so excited for his future son that he even names him well in advance and starts building his crib. However, in his excitement he fails to spot the familiar signs of a civil war brewing in the country and that his daughter is becoming more distant.

The turning point of Desrances arrives with the news that all of the most dangerous prisoners of the country have escaped (an event that actually happened in 2017). It’s at this point that the film turns into a post-apocalyptic style thriller with a group of stereotypical prisoners, that wouldn’t be out of place in a DC movie, providing the antagonists to Francis and his family. Out of the blue, the group turns up at Francis’ house with guns and machetes in an attempted robbery. Francis and his family manage to escape, and rush to the hospital with Francis’ wife in labor. However, as Francis’ PTSD kicks in, he loses track of time and reawakens at home alone with his daughter, with his wife and new-born missing.

The second half of Desrances follows Francis as he runs around Abidjan looking for the group of prisoners who have kidnapped his missing wife and son. The city has quickly become a desolate urban wasteland with supermarkets full of empty shelves, deserted streets, and bands of people assembling to stake their claims to sectors of Abidjan. These are all signs of your typical post-apocalyptic movie; signs which point to the futility of Francis’ search. However, if anyone could interpret the signs, it should be Francis. He has lived through the revolution in Haiti and experienced the trauma of war. However, out of blind desperation to meet his son he keeps looking no matter how hard his daughter tries to stop him.

Desrances draws on the 2017 escape of over 100 inmates from prisons in Cote D’Ivoire and the Ivorian Civil War to create a post-apocalyptic environment in Abidjan. Behind the chaos is a story about a father and daughter that have to reconnect after losing touch with each other, held together by great performances from Jimmy Jean-Louis and his daughter. It’s a well put together thriller that should have popular appeal.

Finding Sally (Ethiopia) – Pan African Film Festival 2021

Finding Sally is the story of a 23-year-old woman from an upper-class family who became a communist rebel with the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party. Idealistic and in love, Sally got caught up in her country’s revolutionary fervor and landed on the military government’s most wanted list. She went underground and her family never saw her again. Four decades after Sally’s disappearance, Tamara Dawit pieces together her mysterious life in Finding Sally. She revisits the Ethiopian revolution and the terrible massacre that followed, which resulted in nearly every Ethiopian family losing a loved one. Her quest leads her to question notions of belonging, personal convictions and political ideals at a time when Ethiopia is going through important political changes once again.

Tamara’s family story in Finding Sally is a good one, but doesn’t always come across like it. It could have taken a few more artistic liberties to bring out the story a bit more. One example that dampens the mystery is in a scene where Tamara is interviewing her Aunt in Ethiopia. She asks her why she never knew about the existence of her missing Aunt Sally, and her Aunt answers: “I don’t know, she was in all of the family albums.” Her answer immediately shuts down the mystery the director was creating about her missing Aunt.

It’s also clear that they’re not the typical Ethiopian family. The director’s grandfather was a foreign diplomat that took them round the world with them, so they had certain levels of privilege other Ethiopians wouldn’t. But his importance is never hyped up that much, making their family appear pretty normal versus how they probably were. Their uniqueness could have been emphasized more.

Aunt Sally’s role in the communist movement also feels a little unclear. It doesn’t come across that she was an integral part of the movement as her links to the party appear fairly tenuous in Finding Sally. Perhaps there was just not enough information to tell her story in so much detail. It also feels as if the director is caught between telling multiple stories. She uses the narrative of her missing Aunt as a gateway into contemporary Ethiopian history, but also depicts the story of her family history as she reconnects with her family in Ethiopia. In moments, the stories tie together, but the lack of detail in Sally’s story, never fully brings her to life, leaving her role in the revolution and beyond a bit flat.

If you’re looking for a personal story of a family of a diplomat working in a changing country told through personal one on one interviews and photographs, Finding Sally is worth a watch. However, this might not be what you’re after if you’re looking for a more involved documentary on Ethiopian history or a globe spanning mystery.

Check our Pan African Film Festival 2021 page for more reviews coming out of the 29th edition of the festival.