Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Rebelle (2012)

Rebelle (2012)
Rebelle (2012)
Genre: Drama
Director: Kim Nguyen
Starring: Rachel Mwanza, Serge Kanyinda, Mizinga Mwinga
Language: French
Duration:  90 min.
Rating: 8.0
Summary:
The story of a young girl who is kidnapped and forcibly inducted into a rebel army.
Rebelle, also known as War Witch, is a film written and directed by Kim Nguyen. It premiered in competition at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, where 15-year-old Congolese actress Rachel Mwanza won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. She also won Best Actress at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. It is Canada's official submission to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

A stunning example of what appears to be a growing trend of powerful Canadian cinema that takes place mostly or entirely on foreign soil, following 2010's Academy Award nominated Incendies, and including this year's Inch'Allah. Though shot in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is set in an unnamed nation ravaged by civil war. Telling the detailed ordeal of 12-year-old Komona (Mwanza), who witnesses the slaughter of her entire village by a group of rebels, and is  then forced to join their cause.

Rebelle (2012)

Although the subject matter is devastating and some scenes very hard to watch, it's not your typical story of unending despair. There are atrocities and painful events but they are carefully balanced with just as many simple and tender moments of joy which give us a fully rendered portrait of Komona's life and circumstance.

Also, Nguyen's screenplay unfolds with an elegantly flowing style, layered with welcome surprises including a unique supernatural twist, and it's backed with some impressively vivid visuals, handheld but always retaining a certain level of digital sharpness and bright colors, that give the film an almost magical feeling. It's a little strange and unsettling how truly breathtaking some of the imagery is, in contrast to the unspeakable things going on in the frame.

2012 has been a remarkable year for actresses, and Rachel Mwanza is absolutely superb. Terrific in how she naturally plays the affecting transformation of her character that we see on screen, she is forced to make some extremely brutal choices along the way, and is just as utterly convincing in those difficult scenes as the ones when she's briefly allowed to be a child again. It's especially impressive to see this kind of performance from an untrained newcomer.

Rebelle (2012)

Credit also to Diane Uwamahoro, who performs Komona's voiceover. She narrates the story, with a quiet and thoughtful manner, wisely leaving out some of the gorier details. Nguyen does the same, demonstrating a commendable restraint for not explicitly showing us the most awful horrors. A tactic which sometimes actually makes them even more disturbing to sit through.

As a whole though, the story doesn't quite maintain it's intensity or effectiveness all the way to the end. It's not a long film, but by the time we reach the last act, it starts to feel like one. Perhaps because of the decidedly episodic nature of the narrative, or maybe the sheer amount of depressing material up to that point, but it just falls short of delivering a truly lasting impression.

Still, it's a very impressive work that is artistically bold and emotionally powerful. While it may not have totally swept me away, it's the type of challenging commercially nonviable cinema that I love to see succeed, and I hope and expect that it will make the final ballot.
Bonjour Tristesse

Rebelle (2012)

Rebelle (2012)

Rebelle (2012)

Rebelle (2012)

Rebelle (2012)

Rebelle (2012)

7 comments:

d_4 said...

The trailer was very strong. It didn't take much of it to see some of that beautiful imagery behind the horrors, and that was pretty appealing. What's not appealing is how it might lose some magic by the end of it, but I think I'll give it a shot if it makes it to theaters here anyway. Probably.

Christine said...

Great review! This was definitely my favorite film that I saw at Berlinale. I just loved how the story was handled.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah even though it didn't quite reach that level of greatness for me, it is still a very good film. Most who have seen it, call it one of the year's best. Do try and see it if you get the chance.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thank you Christine. Are you going again next year?

Michaël Parent said...

Another one I need to catch up!

Mettel Ray said...

Going to watch this one today, I'm sure I'll like it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

So what did you think of it?

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