War Dance
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Movie Reviews of War Dance
Movie Review: Watch. Listen. Learn.
Summary: 5 Stars
Nominated at the 2008 Oscars in the Best Documentary category, it is easy to see why WAR DANCE was on top of that list. Although it lost out to Taxi To the Dark Side, War Dance need not hang its head.
Little known subjects are a great thing to learn about, and this is War Dance's biggest strength. The civil war in Uganda has raged for over 20 years, but few know what it's about or its effects on the population. One look at War Dance will give you some chilling insights.
Focusing on three children within the Patongo refugee camp of northern Uganda, all of the kids have lost at least one parent, sibling or family member to the horrors of the war, and have been forced into this government protected camp for basic survival. Life is dank, depressing, and full of fear. Until one day the children discover that their little school has qualified for the finals at the annual Kampala Music Festival. And with them will go Dominic, a boy forced into being a child soldier for the rebels and desperately trying to locate his lost brother. A gripping scene between himself and a rebel leader tells Dominic much of what he already suspected. Nancy, a tough young lady, will go the Kampala, too. And with her she brings the hopes and dreams of her father who was hacked to death by machetes (the visit to his grave is sure to have many reaching for the tissue box). Then we have Rose, the soft-spoken one who is obviously in a funk of depression. But to watch her dance is to see the lights burst forth from her eyes.
The documentary is exceptionally well put together. The cinematography of the surrounding jungle is awe-inspiring, as are the tough scenes where children are put in front of the camera and asked to explain how they feel ("I can't wait to see what peace looks like," says one of them as they prepare to compete in Kampala).
Shown as a sort of David and Goliath tale, one can't help but see the infiltration of Christianity on these people's lives, too. Their clothing, their "prayers", and many other aspects speak to the westernization of their culture. One of the competition categories is even called "Western Choral Music." But the big winner in the categories is obviously the native dance sequence where Dominic shines as the xylophone player, Nancy dances and spins with delight, and Rose comes back to life. The other schools, initially sneering at this "tiny school from the north", begin to respect them.
But can these first timers win anything at a festival where they compete against schools of much greater renown? You'll have to watch and find out. And you should. The tales of torture mixed with the joy of music and dance are something everyone should see. And you might even learn something you didn't know about in another part of the world.
Movie Review: Good Grief
Summary: 5 Stars
One thing's for sure, the filmmakers for `War/Dance' won over the children's trust for this documentary. Nancy (14), Dominic, and Rose are the focal points for a moving story about children from Northern Uganda's Patongo Primary School working hard to use their tribal identity to catapult them to a national contest of native music and dance.
This aspect would be of enough interest in itself, but the ordeal each child has had to face is heartbreaking. Without giving away each one's testimony, they have had to come to terms with a civil war that mars them socially and emotionally. In their Northern region the government's military is on guard against a rebel resistance that uses horrible tactics. Many children are abducted (30,000 Acholi tribe children) , so they can train them militarily, and others are cruelly orphaned (200,000 approx.). When the children tell us their own difficulties, they sometimes break into tears. As Nancy says, "It's difficult for people to believe our story." Rose is overworked. She is lead by her aunt who delegates all her tasks to clean the hut, bathe the children, and cook the food. What a difficult burden!
It's easy to be harsh on the adults, for they seem so harsh with the children. I kept thinking, 'Why don't these people lighten up on these kids?' Yet, as strict as they are, they do care. Patongo's jolly Okot is their music teacher, and he doesn't let up on the children one iota. He tells Dominic, a virtuoso xylophone player, that everything depends on him. June Adong, a music instructor, expects nothing less than perfection, yet she shares that "Music is the big therapy in children's lives." In a gut-wrenching scene, Nancy's mother has her visit her father's grave where Nancy's grief is shown to be excruciating. The mother calms her down, but partly scolds her that she may be drawing the rebels' attention with her loud sobs. Rough indeed.
Absorbed in their troubles, the film switches focus to the contest. As the proud first-year entrants from their school, they face formidable competition from their Southern counterparts who have had less difficulty and more money. It isn't hard to root for our team when the Southerners are calling the Patongo children rebel murderers.
Besides tightly edited anecdotes, the film is marvelous for the music. The contest draws us into a vibrant pageant of rhythms, beautiful singing, and gorgeously bright native attire. The dancing and synchronized movements are a testimony to artistic achievement as well as a resilient human spirit.
As a very worthy Oscar nominee for Best Documentary, 'War/Dance' is a luminous and illuminating look at the perseverance of people in conditions and situations that are easy to forget. Inspiring.
Movie Review: Poignant, hopeful, somber, glorious
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is a story that is almost inconceivable to a person like me; middle aged, American, living in the suburbs of the nation's Capital. I had no idea. No idea. And I am grateful to these children for sharing their story, a story of children being stolen from their parents to build a rebel army. Children systematically dehumanized, led to murder without remorse with a band of rebels that teaches death instead of reading writing and rithmetic. This is not an unknown phenomenon. It is not exclusive to Africa and not exclusive to modern times. I was reminded of the Khmer Rouge and the killing fields of Cambodia. And yet. And yet. Some government soldiers offering security, United Nations trucks providing food deliveries, and a school for orphaned children provides some protection for a little flame of hope in the midst of the most dire circumstances imaginable. To see these kids progress along a path of healing and reconciliation through singing, dancing, and music making is a thing of beauty, all the more starkly contrasted with the circumstances of their rescue. It demonstrates the importance of culture, or music, of art, of self expression, as a part of the natural health of the human mind and spirit, and it shows the possibility of transformative redemption in the face of a brutal, predatory reality. The story of these children would be beautiful in it's own right, but to see it in the context of their suffering and deprivation heightens the ironic sense of appreciation for all their accomplishments. Their story cannot help but leave one feeling hopeful for the future, and hopeful for these kids, some of whom seem destined to become peacemakers, after knowing the fathomless despair of violent conflict in a way that no child should ever be forced to realize.Movie Review: WHEN I DANCE, I FEEL FREEDOM...!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a documentary you won't soon forget about growing up in a refugee camp in war torn Northern Uganda. It takes you back and forth down two tracks until the grand finale. One track is the horrific stories of violence and terror as told by the children themselves (the PG-13 rating) about being forced to watch their parents and siblings being killed and picking up the body parts after, about being forced at gunpoint to kill others with a hoe and other unspeakable experiences. The other track takes you down a path of hope and optimism as you follow the preparation of Patongo Grammar School (the school in the camp) to participate in the prestigious national music and dance festival in Kampala. One very talented young student is determined to be the 'best xylophone player in Uganda'. This is the first time this school has been selected to represent their tribe at the competition. They bring in two professional teachers to help. The students are excited and confident and nervous-for many (if not most) their first trip to a real city. With the camp under 24/7 armed military guard, there is little opportunity to venture more than a few yards outside the camp perimeter. Finally, the big day arrives and the village sends them off in trucks with armed guards. Even in Uganda there is the 'wrong side of the tracks' and the students discover that the other students at the festival consider them to be from that side. This makes them even more determined to win. The competition is an exciting finish to this both horrific and heartwarming film. [...].
Movie Review: War Dance: Northern Uganda's Traditionalists Shine
Summary: 5 Stars
Just watched War Dance on netflix - children from the war zone in Northern Uganda. It was beautiful, inspiring, makes you cry, makes you listen. Makes you look carefully. Never saw cinematography so capture the complexity of a bleak expression, nor the softness beneath stoney pain. The music is utterly astounding, incandescent - Africa, yes. And the cinematography is never cheap, the vision never a cheapshot, ever. A precious gem of a film, and so important. These are people, these are children whose lives are made bright by the very thought of their tradition. The pride of winning is about the honor and transportive joy of their tradition, the honor and joy of their people, their lineage, and the very life of the tradition itself.
I felt lonely as a woman of people with no tradition in this way. I felt a glimpsing of understanding of my native family's experience. Joy in the bones. I wondered if I would ever see such a documentary made of our people, our native family, that would not be somehow cheaply sentimentalized even for a moment.
It is not sentimentalized in any way.
Not a cheapsuit moment in this important film.
Production features inspiring, unpredictable cinematography.
I urge you to consider seeing it.
I am so thrilled by what I just saw I want to urge you to do that!
War Dance.