Review by John Delia
One of the most chilling and incredibly horrific films comes to South Florida. It’s called War Witch and delves into the atrocities that befall several African countries that are still under siege by rebels in an ongoing civil war. The film features an excellent cast directed by Kim Nguyen who holds back nothing about the killing, kidnapping and enslavement of young children. If there’s one docudrama you see this year, let it be Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee War Witch.
The docudrama follows 12-year-old Komona (Rachel Mwanza) a young girl who gets taken during a raid on her village by the Tiger rebels, making her kill her parents in the process. The rebels are so fierce that they leave no one alive except Komona and 12 other children that they kidnap for slavery. Transporting them to a jungle far from their home, the children are starved, forced to learn how to shoot AK-47 automatic rifles, given drugs and beaten regularly to break their will.
The story goes on from there showing Komona’s progress on her ability to kill, her elevation to the Great Tiger’s personal witch, her temporary escape, rape and pregnancy. The film shows the brutality of the rebel forces, their impenetrable strong hold and their drug induced techniques that are used to hold their captives and keep them in battle against government soldiers.
The cinematography captures the degradation brought on by the dehumanization and demoralizing of the captives in scenes that made me cringe at times. Director Kim Nguyen takes his camera up close to let you see what we have only heard about. He put his actors through their paces on some of the most squalid sets, minimally covered shacks, and thick jungles to get his message across.
His actors are amazingly good, but you can readily see its Nguyen’s direction that provides the spirit and devotion needed to carry out the story. Keeping it real, he chose a child of the streets with no acting training to play Komona. You won’t find Rachel Mwanza’s name listed in the credits of a long list of films, but she still walked the red carpet at the recent Academy Awards where the film in which she starred was nominated for Best Foreign Film.
In a multi-colored African dress, she was a stand-out among the stars, a glowing young lady who was starry eyed and proud to walk along the same path as Angelina Jolie. Not the sweaty, beaten, raped and pregnant character in her film, but a child who shows the world that a lot of good can come out of her Country. What a fitting beginning of a dream come true for a youngster that represents a strong will, innate creative skills and a commitment to bringing awareness to the plight of civil war in Africa.
War Witch has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains nudity, brutality, violence, language, drug use, and rape. The film is presented in French and the Congo language of Lingala with easy to read English subtitles. The movie was filmed entirely in the country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A crushing view that sends an important message. (A)
WAR WITCH OPENS MARCH 29 AT LIVING ROOM THEATERS (Boca Raton, Florida), CINEMA PARADISO (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) and a the BILL COSFORD CINEMA (on the campus of the University of Miami, Florida)
Additional Film Information:
- Cast: Rachel Mwanza, Alain Bastien, Serge Kanyianda, Ralph Prosper and Mizinga Mwinga
- Directed by: Kim Nguyen
- Genre: Foreign, Drama, War
- MPAA Rating: Unrated
- Running Time: 1 hr 30 min
- Language: French & Lingala w/ English subtitles
- Opening Date: March 29, 2013
- Distributed by: Tribeca Film
- Awards: Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film, 2013 Academy Awards