Die Rebellin

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".

¨We are rebels. Respect your guns. They're your new mother and father.¨

War Witch, also known as Rebelle, is a Canadian film directed by Kim Nguyen that has been nominated for this year's Academy Awards for best foreign picture. It is an enlightening film about the horrors that some children have to face in Africa when kidnapped by rebel forces. Nguyen, who also wrote the screenplay, did it in a very sensitive manner without relying on melodramatic or shocking moments. This is more of a sensitive drama focusing on a character study of a young girl's life when forced to kill her parents and join a rebel army. The harsh and violent reality of her life is softened by her innocence and supernatural mystic powers. The film combines these two elements in such a way that it makes the movie a much lighter and pleasant viewing experience. The addition of a sweet love story between her and one of the kids in the rebel army is what balances out the ultra realistic violence in her world with a touch of magical romantic moments, such as the search for the white rooster which gives the movie a much more lighter touch in midst of all the drama. The performance from Rachel Mwanza feels so real and authentic that it makes the film work as we see how this innocent girl's life changes as she becomes a woman in the midst of war. War Witch wouldn't have worked if it weren't for her unique portrayal of this character. This is a powerful film because there is no denying these things are happening in real life, and we need to put an end to this senseless brutality. Kim Nguyen does a great job with the direction of this film by adding some unique touches in the sound department, and the cinematography works really well.

The movie takes place in an undisclosed country in Africa where Komona (Rachel Mwanza), a young 14 year old pregnant girl, decides to tell her unborn child the story of her life. When she was 12, rebel forces raided her village and forced her and other children to murder their parents and join them. They were all given guns and prepared to fight for the Grand Tigre Royal (Mizinga Mwinga). She was the only child from her village to survive an early encounter against government army forces, after being warned by the ghosts of her parents to run. After this, she was considered to be a War Witch due to her mystical powers. She befriends another boy from the rebel army, who is also considered to have some sort of mystical powers and is known as the Magician (Serge Kanyinda). Together they decide to run away and hide at the Magician's uncle's home. He is known as the butcher (Ralph Prosper) and is very kind to the young kids who fall in love with each other. The Magician asks Komona to marry him, and she says that she can only marry him if he finds her a white rooster, which is extremely rare to find in that country. Despite the pleasant life she seems to be living, the ghosts still torment her, and after a brief moment of peace the rebels are back again to haunt her. Will Komona ever find peace in this senseless and brutal society she's living in?

War Witch is only about 90 minutes long, which was perfect because it could have gotten heavy handed if Nguyen had decided to expand the screenplay more. I really enjoyed that he decided to include this world of superstition in the midst of all the violence because it is a great part of the African culture which is left out sometimes. Despite the violent world in which Komona was introduced too, she also was able to find love although it was short lived. Nguyen found a perfect balance between this horrific world and the magical romantic one that Komona lived in. This will not win the Oscar, because Amour is a lock at this point, but it still is a unique film that is worth checking out if you 're into foreign films. I really enjoyed this film, although I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It isn't groundbreaking, but is worth seeing for the story and performances alone.

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In the harrowing, Oscar-nominated Canadian drama "War Witch," a young African girl is conscripted into a band of armed rebels, ordered by them to kill her own parents, then forced, along with the other children in her village, to fight against the government forces they're opposing. Because she seemingly has some sort of psychic visions of where the enemy is hiding in the woods (it's actually hallucinations brought on by a psychotropic liquid she imbibes from some local plants), she earns the position of personal "witch" to the chief rebel himself - a position that brings with it special protection as well (at least up to a point). But that's only the beginning of Komona's ordeal as she hooks up with an albino "magician" (the excellent Serge Kanyinda) with whom she tries to flee the horrors of the world around them.

And it is those very horrors - the nonstop terror and violence, and the ever present prospect of sudden death - that writer/director Kim Nguyen captures to such powerful effect in this film. Despite its occasional forays into the surreal, what one takes away most from "War Witch" is its unflinching willingness to confront the brutal realities of life for Komona and the countless others who share her predicament. Then there are the occasional acts of random kindness that allow hope to flourish even in the most horrible of circumstances.

And all throughout her ordeal, Komona must find a way to bury, both literally and figuratively, the ghosts of the parents she killed.

Rachel Mwanza is utterly amazing as Komona, and she richly deserved all the praise and awards heaped on her for her performance. Whether it's her heartbreaking narration to her unborn child or the understated way in which she reacts to and internally processes the unspeakable atrocities she both witnesses and is forced to commit, Mwanza embodies a much larger tragedy within the narrower confines of a single character.

It may be hard to watch at times, but "War Witch" provides an invaluable reminder of what happens when we send our children off to war.

I attended a screening of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival. The director was there and spoke of the tedious process of getting his film released. I am not sure when it will be open to the public but I hope it can come out in a not-so-distant future because it's definitely a must see.

Rebelle is not for everyone. It's hard to watch and may be too much for some. But what's so terrible about this film isn't what is shown. It's what isn't. The story is about a 14 year-old girl, telling her story to her unborn baby before giving birth. It spans the two years preceding the opening of the film, when the girl was abducted from her village by the rebel army and turned into a child soldier. As every step, something terrible happens. But somehow, leaving the theatre, you simply know that in real life, it may have been even more horrible.

I won't spoil anything but as you can imagine, as she lives with the rebel army, she is forced to do unspeakable things. She is somewhat protected by the leader as he believes her to be a witch. Throughout the film, she has visions of the ghosts of people killed by the rebel army, including her own parents. It doesn't seem unrealistic or made up. It makes the film just this more bearable to watch, as we're let into the mind of a child and her ways of coping with the events around her.

She befriends another kid believed to have special powers, a boy barely older than she is. As their relationship evolves, you find yourself within their own personal haven, their escape from the atrocities of the life they are forced to live. You understand why child soldiers do what they do, how a human being can be turned to commit inhumane crimes. From their adventure together, you will laugh at times and cry at others.

It's really hard to write about this film without giving away anything. All the emotions you will feel watching time come from the characters around the kids and the small things that happen to them that give them the strength to go on. The 'butcher' may be the best character in the film. His kindness to the children, his understanding of what they have been though and his acceptance of what they have become is incredibly touching.

It's a tough film. A beautiful film. A film that stays with you long after you've seen it. Most of the actors hired had never acted before but they are all fantastic. Rachel Mwanza in particular is unforgettable. I hope she goes on to have a brilliant career because she was fantastic.

If ever you have an opportunity to see Rebelle, take it. You won't regret it.

Rachel Mwanza is the war witch of the title, a twelve year old girl who is captured and turned into a child soldier by a violent rebel group fighting undefined government forces in an unnamed African country. Mwanza is quite good as Komona, a kid who has to grow up unnaturally fast. She becomes very proficient with an AK-47, and after surviving an ambush by the enemy, is given the name "war witch" by her leaders. She befriends a boy named the magician, and he looks like a young version of the former basketball player, Dennis Rodman, with platinum blond hair. The two fall in love and escape the rebel fighters, as the film shifts from a war drama to a love story for a brief time. Without giving away too much, there is no happy ending here, and ultimately the theme is just about survival at any cost. A ghost story aspect is part of the plot, a slight reminder of Toni Morrison's "Beloved", a similar mood is shared by the two movies. Rachel Mwanza makes "War Witch" worth it.