ninecurses

Entranced Earth does better what I think Rocha was going for here. In the former, a critique of political institutions, substituting that theme here with religion. But it doesn't work. Amateurish, unfocused, confusing, utterly pointless,. Worst of all, the director seems to take no real interest in the lives of the characters or even the actors, most of whom seem to not know what movie they are in or why they are in it. A few individual scenes work and the black and white is often quite beautiful, but I waited an awful long time to get to this one only to be completely disappointed. And don't let the tag "4K Restoration" sway you. Avoid.

This is a documentary, and a moving one. In Sudan, an aging group of men, all filmmakers themselves and calling themselves the SFG (the Sudanese Film Group), are trying to bring cinema back to the local population. They reminisce about their own histories as movie makers, while they screen Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" for small but affectionate locals. But they are only able to show movies on a small scale and to few people, when their real objective is to revive a destitute movie house so that the young can experience the magic of a movie theater. This movie is really about the love of cinema. As a movie lover myself, I was emotionally invested. Completely. I was made teary-eyed by the passion of these older movie lovers, and it is with them that the movie really soars. These 4 cineastes are gentle, funny, and lovable. They carry with them both a wisdom about their perhaps futile cause, and a wariness about the realities of having to live under totalitarian rule. It is these 4 men and their passion. You will love getting to know them and spending 90 minutes with them, especially if you care about movies as much as they do. A find!

Jokes are flat, the musical number is regrettable, and the usual, little weirdnesses that make the show special are uninspired. Die-hards will still love it I'm sure, but I'm going to say Skip it to other casual fans like myself.