Abouna

This movie confused me to no end. I consider myself pretty intellectual and cultured, so I hope it's not just me. I was enjoying it very much, the storyline was progressing beautifully, and the imagery was gorgeous. The performances of the two young boys, and the deaf-mute girl are also worth noting. Then all of a sudden the plot took a sudden turn I wasn't expecting, and I just became extremely confused, a feeling which settled in and remained for the last half of the film pretty much. I would recommend this movie to people who would enjoy it purely for its visual value, and I would not recommend it to people who get confused by most foreign films, because this one will definitely be over their heads.

There can't be many countries in the world that the average Briton knows less about than Chad; indeed, when I saw this film on television, the announcer described the place as part of Cameroon! Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's film is thus interesting as a glimpse of a life rarely seen by westerners; and if at times the characters seem a little short of dialogue and motivation, the imagery is striking and the sentiments heartfelt. 'Abouna' doesn't feel like a finished, polished movie; but there's the talent of it's director is definitely on display, his use of stillness and silence partially offsetting the relative absence of conventional plot.

A visual narrative on ordinary folk with a simple but instantly recognisable plot on family responsibility. Children and women are often the victims in male dominant third world societies. This film aims to express this through the eyes of children in a fragile society. In the aftermath of post-colonial and civil war-torn Muslim state Chad, a father leaves home for Morocco, leaving behind his wife and two boys, presumably to make money for his family. Their mother becomes stressed and cannot assert full parental responsibilities alone and so hands her children over to a nearby Koran school. Here, the boys plot to venture out and find their estranged father, not realising the extent of the journey or indeed where Morocco is - other than by the sea. As most people in the desert region of Chad have never seen the sea, their quest becomes a dream not to be fulfilled.

The pace of the film is deliberately slow. The narrative is mainly visual. The use of non-actors gives it that realistic edge. To me it is another fine example of indigenous African cinema that aims to bring home the reality of life. Cinema isn't just there to entertain (or make money) it is also to educate and enhance thought. Well recommended piece of social realism.

On the surface a simple, affecting tale of two sons' search for their absent father, Abouna is actually a film of some sophistication.

At one point the brothers visit a cinema. The posters outside advertise the African film Yaaba, Chaplin's The Kid and most notably Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise (hardly likely to be topping the bill in Chad). Other posters which would have been apt include "Pather Panchali", "Les Quatre Cent Coups" and any one of a number of recent Iranian movies.

Jarmusch's elliptical style of story-telling seems a particular influence, all of the obvious plot points (a kiss, a capture, a death) occur off-camera and the dialogue is more about what is not said than about what is. I do wonder a little whether an audience in Chad would buy this deadpan style or whether the film is really aimed at the First World art-house audience, but for me it works well.

There seems to be a metaphor in the idea of the absent father, perhaps relating to a country that the director feels has lost its way after many years of colonialism and war. The central family is not poor by African standards, but life is still harsh.

Much of the music is by the Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure, and you can really hear the African roots of the Blues in his playing. The images of landscape, skin, children playing are beautiful.

When Tahir and Amine wake up one morning they find their father has already left the house. When he fails to return for their football match they begin to think something is up and their mother is no help, refusing to help find him and hoping to just move past this useless man. However when the two sons start to look for their father they find that he has not been to his job in over two years and they believe that they have seen him in a film shown at a local cinema. When they get in trouble for stealing the film, their mother sends them away to a Koran school where the boys quickly realise that things will not be as good as they have been told.

Although I do not know a great deal about Chad other than where it is, it is hard not to spot that a story that contains such things as a lack of a leadership role and the dream of getting to the sea (that represents a new world) clearly has some other meaning beyond the narrative that applies to the landlocked African country. However, beyond the most obvious of metaphors, I wasn't able to read a lot of the finer points in the film but this did not mean that I wasn't able to enjoy it, because I was. The story is still an interesting one even if some subtexts went over my head. The emotions and plights of the characters are easy to read and are engaging throughout. Ali Farka Toure's score is as haunting as much of his music and it aids the emotional impact of the film without ever making it cloying or manipulative.

Moussa's Tahir is convincing and engaging while Aguid plays the little brother role well enough to steal the audience heart but without making it into a simple "cute kid" performance that is often the result of Western child performances in films. The support cast are all pretty good and everyone, from the leads to the smallest roles, come over as natural and realistic. However the main stars of the film for me were the director and the cinematographer because they produce a beautiful film that frames shots fantastically while also bringing out colour and places really. It is the sort of film you could take screenshots of and use them as pictures in your home.

Overall this is a great film that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. Watching this film and countless others like it from Africa you do have to wonder why Bob Geldof decided that loads of singing white people was the best way to raise awareness of Africa – Live8 is fine but why not get the global cinema chains to buy in with screenings of films like this with all proceeds going to the poverty campaign? Anyway, regardless of that this film will become known with time because it is strong enough to do the rounds. I may not know a lot but the metaphors are clear to read although, even without them the film is a haunting and beautiful piece that is well worth trying to find.