El cuaderno de Sara

Motivated by the very mixed opinions and descriptions put forward by previous reviews, I wish to reframe this movie in what I believe to be, as a simple viewer, the correct context.

It seems to me that the obvious wish of the director is to bring to the screen the dire situation encountered in the Eastern Congo, for many years (decades) now, but that he does not wish to go totally over the top by showing the absolute full extent of the horror that has stricken that area of the world, presumably by fear of frightening the public. A lighter note is added by the story of two sisters, one of whom, established as a lawyer in Spain, sets out to find the trace of the younger sibling, working in an NGO in the Congo. At the same time, this gives what inevitably will be a predominantly western audience a number of characters to identify with.

The setting is borrowed from a very real situation, and a very real insurgent - or terror - operation lead in the 2000's by Laurent Nkunda. Barely disguised under the false name N'gunda, all the elements that characterized the reign of terror of Nkunda's group are brought to the screen, in a mix that gives the average viewer an idea of what went on there, without frightening her or him away - the real truth is simply too appalling to be portrayed frontally. The lead character should simply be seen as the narrator, the guide who leads the viewer through all this.

Remember that this is a movie, and that a director is free to portray what he or she wants. It therefore does not matter whether Laura's travels sometimes border on the irrealistic or luck or circumstance play too large a role in the plot. That is just entirely besides the point, since Laura is basically our "tour guide". I feel that the movie fits well with works of a similar character, notably "Cry Freedom", which, even though called a masterpiece, was fraught with much the same weaknesses. In "Sara's notebook", the director makes a very clear and laudable effort to portray the country, its circumstances, and the action as accurately as he can, given the means at hand.

In all, the director succeeds rather well. I would tend to dismiss accusations of racism read in other reviews. Being a western director, and having chosen to film from a western, european vantage point, certain prejudices are inevitable. It should however, be recognized that these are part of our western, european, point of view and inbred behaviour and set of reactions. That is just the way things are, and the author shows it. Nothing wrong with that. The most poignant is of course the fact that the Uruguayan UN soldiers (accurately portrayed) refuse aid to congolese nationals who need it most. Yes, institutional racism, or a necessity imposed by local circumstances, pushed to the extreme ? I do not pretend or permit myself to judge, I merely admit that the resulting picture looks realistic.

So, go have a look for yourself, and tell me what you think.

The critics may be right that much of the story is unrealistic, and I agree the protagonist never would have survived any part of the trek she's on. But still it is well acted with some enjoyable supportive actors, especially the actor who plays the woman who saves her life and the young man who plays Jamir-who's actually the best thing about the whole film.

A Spanish woman named Laura: Belen Rueda, travels to Center Africa looking for her beloved and long-time lost younger sister Sara : Marian Alvarez. After learning by a photograph that her sister is at Goma region, she sets out to look for the missing Sara accompanied by an ex-soldier boy called Jamir: Ivan Mendes, who relunctantly accepts to help her. Both of whom begin a risked travel to the darkest heart of Africa with abundant dangers, attacks and assaults from Uganda, via Rwanda, across the frontier from Eastern Democratic Republic Congo until Goma. There rules a ruthless warlord nicknamed the Hawk, El Halcón, who carries out bloody razzias and slaughters.

Brooding and thought-provoking flick concerning interesting themes, such as : recruiting of soldier children, human exploitation by extreme labouring about mineral Coltan, horrible African conditions where life has not value and death shows up in every corner of the way , violent African wars commanded by brutal warlords who cause massacre, destruction and chaos. Cast is pretty well. Belén Rueda gives a fine acting as the valiant Spanish lawyer decided to undertake a perilous mission but her own spirit and mind will take on an ominous reality. Marian Alvarez is the good sister who sacrifices herself for the unfortunate African people. Along with a nice support cast such as : Enrico Lo Verso, Marta Belaustegui, Apali, Ramón Barea, Cardona, Nick Devlin and Iván Mendes as the young boy and ex- soldier child who helps and saves lives.

It contains a colorful and brilliant cinematography by David Omedes who photograps perfectly the lush African jungle. Being filmed on location in Uganda and Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. As well as an emotive and sensitive musical score by Julio de la Rosa who captures the adequate ambient. The motion picture well written by Jorge Guerricaechevarria, Alex de la Iglesia's ordinary writer, was competently directed by Norberto López Amado. He is a good professional, a fine craftsman who has directed a few films as Nos Miran and La Decision de Julia and a lot of TV series such as : El comisario, El internado, Herederos, Plan America, Acusados, 14 Abril la Republica, Tierra de lobos, El Principe, Toledo, Capitan Alatriste, El tiempo entre costuras, El Rey, Mar de plástico, El incidente, La verdad, Secretos de estado, Brigada Costa del Sol, Hernán. Rating 6.5/10. Above average. The yarn will appeal to Belén Rueda fans.

El cuaderno de Sara follows the story of a spanish lawyer that tracks down her sister, an aid worker, to a violent zone in the congo.

Once the film begins, you are reminded an awful lot of times that africa is a violent and complex place, very different to Madrid. Our main character seems completely incapable of walking the streets without getting lost or fade helplessly into the chaos, finding comfort only in white-abundant places like hotels and bars. I understand that this is the point of the character, she being naive and ignorant, but the movie ends with her being almost as ignorant as the beginning.

The movie has an abundance of opportunities to come to a profound realization, the whole arc of her sister revolves around this fact, but evades a closure for easier subjects. Cute selfies with black kids are nonstop, as are many other aid-tourism behaviors, and even when the conflict it depicts is similar to the reality of not just the congo but many mineral -rich places in Africa, they are never tied to existent names or events. Acting is Ok, and some shots are spectacular, but that is a cheap ploy to simply ignore the failure that is the story.

If you are really interested in learning about the subject, and in my opinion everyone should, you should watch Beasts of No Nation and The Siege of Jadotville both from Netflix. The later, even when is the account of a white group of soldiers fighting on behalf of the UN in the congo, does more to bring the actual causes and consequences of our thirst for minerals than this movie.

The story had a chance to be enthralling. It missed, but not badly. A story of a disastrous Central African drug/diamond/or in this case minerals human tragedy is compelling on its own. This movie also tries to throw in a sibling re-unification thread, which I found lacking. The story of the sister and her young African guide/translator was the star interaction of the movie. However; as with so many movies, the overuse of dramatic shootings and narrow escapes becomes nearly comical. Our heroine is shot at a thousand times, is surrounded numerous times, and ambushed a few more times for good measure. We even get car chases and plane disasters. It was as if the director wanted to make "James Bond goes to an African civil war." I still liked the movie. The acting was solid and they did capture the feel of living in Africa in the 21st Century.