MartinHafer I expected much more from "War Witch". After all, it was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar and is about a very important topic, children who are kidnapped and forced to serve in evil rebel forces in Africa. I've seen several documentaries about this (especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda) and the films have been absolutely heartbreaking to watch due to the evil being perpetrated by these groups (such as the Lord's Army). Yet, inexplicably, "War Witch" seemed far less hard-hitting and interesting.When the film begins, the main character (later dubbed the 'War Witch') is narrating about her life two years earlier. An unnamed rebel group in an unnamed African nation comes on a small village and they kidnap the children (who looked about ages 10-14) and they forced these victims to murder their own parents! Then, they are taken to a rag- tag rebel camp and indoctrinated. The rest of the film follows this girl's adventures--such as her strange ability to see dead people as well as her ill-fated marriage.Considering how tough the film began, I was really surprised that over time the film just seemed to fizzle and seemed to lack direction. The film SHOULD have been a strong indictment of the evil forces on the continent that rob children of their childhoods but it got lost, a bit, with the ghosts, white chicken, marriage and other distractions. My advice--see one of the documentaries instead, such as "Sewing Hope".

SnoopyStyle A pregnant older Komona tells the story when as a 12 year old village girl, she gets abducted by rebels and forced to kill her family. She is taken along to fight, and she falls for an older albino child soldier. Together the two walk away from the fight. He's on a quest to find a white rooster which he needs to marry Komona.This movie starts off with a bang... literally. It goes on with a compelling narrative as she's being forced to fight. However, the escape diffused a lot of the tension in the movie. It loses a lot of the danger. It turns more surreal and rambling. It's as if there is a different movie going on. I think an escape is better as the climax.

colinbarnard-1 Kim Ngyen's "Rebelle" is everything that a Canadian film should be: a confident, non-American, distinctly Canadian look at the world around us. Ngyen's film succeeds in presenting vignettes of what a "war child" is presumed to go through: the indoctrination through brutalization, clinging to an immature version of humanity whilst expected to do very adult things, and ultimately trying to exit the soldier's life and find a life of normalcy. The magnificent Rachel Mwanza is the absolute centre of the film, richly deserving her Canadian Film Award as best actress, delivering far more depth of performance through her expressive face than delivering any of Nguyen's dialogue. It is incredible that a young woman of 13 can portray all of the experiences her character undergoes, including the rigours of childbirth. I hope that she is allowed to appear in more films- a major world talent. The film was made in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for a reputed $3.5 million. The actors are local, though the film never indicates what country it is set in (so as to better represent the African whole, I expect). While not the film's fault, it is disheartening to see yet another film about Africa that presents the continent and its people as wholly dysfunctional. Yes, there are conflicts, bad governments, poverty, blood diamonds and child soldiers, BUT, there is also everyday life, beautiful cultures, and struggles of 'people just like us'...just trying to get by day to day. Where the film falters, I think, is in trying to have, or at least imply, a happy ending for Mwanza's protagonist. After undergoing what she goes through, it is difficult to believe that she has the inner resilience to return to a normal 'teenage'life, let alone one of motherhood. PTSD has a way of rendering impossible functional relationships. Also, as noted in my review title, the film is much too short. I was reminded of Apocalypse Now in the themes that Nguyen deaves into, and I think REBELLE needed Apocalypse's length. Maybe we will eventually get 'Rebelle' REDUX. Note to the Producers: the film is a Canadian film, not a product of the Nation of Quebec. So, do not put Quebec as the country of origin on the DVD case. You took Canadian tax dollars to make the film, and submitted it to the American Academy of Film Arts as the official Canadian entry. I am proud that Rebelle is a Canadian film, IN French, one of our two official languages.

brucetwo-2 I thought I'd hate this film--another "60-minutes"-like guilt-trip about child soldiers. But it was something else--a personal story, an adventure, a love story, etc. The camera-work and editing were original and very good--all done in a low-budget way. Art over technology!The story itself felt very real even though it is also very classic and very generic: --war-time, challenge, and hope of redemption. She gets pregnant, has to return home, things get worse before they get better, etc. It reminds me of a Brazilian film I saw about street kids back in the 1980s or 1990s--"Pixote." The homeless street kids in Brazil didn't have AK47 guns, but their lives followed a similar story. "Streetwise" an American documentary about homeless teenagers in Seattle also has similar stories--growing up too fast. Sad to think this is true all over, which also makes it so classic. Faulkner's novel "LIGHT IN AUGUST" comes to mind too--many parallels. And then there are the ongoing drone-strikes the US does all over the world--more disrupted lives, more rebels--and more movies...