Though at this year’s Academy Awards foreign language favourite (and ultimate winner) Amour overshadowed many of the other contenders, the slate proved to be both accessible and ultimately strong, not to mention thoroughly distinctive. Canada’s official entry, War Witch, (interestingly from a Vietnamese/Quebecois director named Kim Nguyen and set in Africa) like the others, never had much of a chance to take home the prize, but still proves to be a unique if sometimes ideologically flawed film.
Ultimately it’s the whimsical and ethereal elements of Nguyen’s effort that stand as the distinguishing features (which set it aside from other movies chronicling war torn Africa) but also as the problematic aspects, which threaten to offensively dim the grim nature of these horrific, still-raging conflicts.
Beginning at an unimposing, poverty-stricken African village, a 12 year old girl named Komona (newcomer Rachel Mwanza) is soon to learn the realities of her country.
Ultimately it’s the whimsical and ethereal elements of Nguyen’s effort that stand as the distinguishing features (which set it aside from other movies chronicling war torn Africa) but also as the problematic aspects, which threaten to offensively dim the grim nature of these horrific, still-raging conflicts.
Beginning at an unimposing, poverty-stricken African village, a 12 year old girl named Komona (newcomer Rachel Mwanza) is soon to learn the realities of her country.
- 3/2/2013
- by Simon Brookfield
- We Got This Covered
Hannah Arendt coined "banality of evil" while watching Nazis on trial, and Canadian writer/director Kim Nguyen's War Witch inspires a similar phrase: the abruptness of atrocity. In War Witch a kid playing with a wooden beam one moment might be forced to kill her parents the next. For Komona (Rachel Mwanza), the film's resourceful adolescent heroine, horror comes and goes as it pleases. Forced to become a child soldier in a war against the government of her unspecified African country, Komona receives a ghostly vision enabling her to survive an ambush—which suggests to the rebels that she is a "war witch." That's only the beginning of her arduous journey toward adulthood, which will crucially turn on a romance with another child soldier (Serge Kanyinda). Refreshingly...
- 2/27/2013
- Village Voice
War Witch
Directed by Kim Nguyen
Written by Kim Nguyen
Canada/2012
War Witch is a rightfully involving, if slightly familiar African dispatch from Canadian filmmaker Kim Nguyen. It has already earned itself a best foreign language film nomination at this year’s Academy Awards and represents a bold new Canadian voice in director Kim Nguyen. The film follows 14-year-old Komona (Rachel Mwanza), who as the story begins tells her unborn child inside of her the story of her life since she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12. As endless wars in Africa wage on, War Witch succeeds in presenting an apt and lyrical depiction of feminine strength and survival. The narrative often sidesteps melodrama in favor of a flickering search for hope in a country ravaged by its own homegrown savagery.
While captured, Komona and her fellow captors (all around the same age) are told to...
Directed by Kim Nguyen
Written by Kim Nguyen
Canada/2012
War Witch is a rightfully involving, if slightly familiar African dispatch from Canadian filmmaker Kim Nguyen. It has already earned itself a best foreign language film nomination at this year’s Academy Awards and represents a bold new Canadian voice in director Kim Nguyen. The film follows 14-year-old Komona (Rachel Mwanza), who as the story begins tells her unborn child inside of her the story of her life since she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12. As endless wars in Africa wage on, War Witch succeeds in presenting an apt and lyrical depiction of feminine strength and survival. The narrative often sidesteps melodrama in favor of a flickering search for hope in a country ravaged by its own homegrown savagery.
While captured, Komona and her fellow captors (all around the same age) are told to...
- 2/22/2013
- by Ty Landis
- SoundOnSight
Today we have the trailer for the upcoming "War Witch" movie, which is nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar (Canada). The new movie premiered at the Berlin and Tribeca film festivals and will now be available on VOD on February 26th. A theatrical release will follow on March 1st. Check out the trailer below. Plot: Komona (Rachel Mwanza) is only 12 years old when she is kidnapped by rebel soldiers and enslaved to a life of guerrilla warfare in the African jungle. Forced to commit unspeakable acts of brutality, she finds hope for survival in protective, ghost-like visions (inspiring a rebel chief to anoint her "War Witch"), and in a tender relationship with a fellow soldier named Magician (Serge Kanyinda). Together, they manage to escape the rebels' clutches, and a normal life finally seems within reach. But after their freedom proves short-lived, Komona realizes she must find a way to...
- 1/30/2013
- WorstPreviews.com
Geneviève Bujold is back: Canadian Screen Awards 2013 [See previous post: "Canadian Screen Awards: Oscar-Nominated War Witch Tops."] In addition to War Witch‘s Rachel Mwanza, the Canadian Screen Awards 2013 Best Actress nominees are Evelyne Brochu for Inch’allah, Marilyn Castonguay for L’Affaire Dumont, Suzanne Clément for Laurence Anyways, and Geneviève Bujold for Still Mine. In the Michael McGowan-directed drama based on real-life events, the veteran Bujold plays farmer James Cromwell tough-but-ailing wife whose physical frailty sets in motion the film’s plot: Cromwell’s desire to build a better, more comfortable house for Bujold pits him against government inspector Jonathan Potts. (Photo: Geneviève Bujold, James Cromwell Still Mine.) The Montreal-born Geneviève Bujold is best known for her Hollywood movies: Charles Jarrott’s Best Picture Academy Award nominee Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), which earned Bujold a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn; Mark Robson’s Earthquake, playing Charlton Heston...
- 1/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Canadian Screen Awards 2013 nominations: War Witch rules The Genie Awards are dead, long live the Canadian Screen Awards! Well, in truth, the Genie Awards aren’t exactly dead; they’ve just been transmogrified, along with Canadian television’s Gemini Awards, into the aforementioned Canadian Screen Awards, organized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. But Genie or Canadian Screen, once again a Québécois production dominates the nominations roster. (Photo: Rachel Mwanza in Kim Nguyen’s War Witch.) Kim Nguyen’s Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award nominee Rebelle / War Witch, the story of a (very) young African rebel fighter, received a total of 12 Canadian Screen Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Berlin Film Festival’s Best Actress Rachel Mwanza), Best Supporting Actor (Serge Kanyinda), and Best Original Screenplay (Nguyen). War Witch follows in the heels of recent Quebec-made Genie Award powerhouses and eventual Best Picture winners such...
- 1/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Komona (Rachel Mwanza) is only 14 years old when she is forced by rebel soldiers to kill her own parents. The guerillas abduct her from her native village, enlist her in their brutal campaign, march her through dense jungles, and beat her when she is too tired to go on. When Komona emerges as the sole survivor of a fierce firefight, the rebel leader Great Tiger pronounces her a "War Witch." Her new position as spiritual advisor means that she is expected to work miracles on a regular basis, or feel the wrath of Great Tiger. Komona's only chance of salvation appears to be Magicien (Serge Kanyinda), a headstrong albino boy who falls in love with her and proves that he is willing to do anything for her love in return. Komona and Magicien flee the rebels and roam the lawless wastelands, seeking a new life. There is a flicker of hope,...
- 10/15/2012
- QuietEarth.us
Toronto – On August 8th, in the Imperial Room of The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival held its Canadian Press Conference. Inside, guests were treated to an assortment of trademark Canadiana, including free beer, cakes, polite conversations and poutine.
Just as you thought the conference couldn’t get more Canadian, Tiff 2012 announced the next wave of hometown content to appear at this year’s festival.
“Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the lineup present stories of youth and violence, coming of age, the environment, dysfunctional families, sex and celebrity,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer of the festival.
“From intimate, affecting stories with big impact to films with global scope, the Canadian films in this year’s Festival will move audiences”.
Screenings include:
Antiviral (North American Premiere)
Brandon Cronenberg, USA/Canada
Starring Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith, Malcolm McDowell
An employee at a clinic,...
Just as you thought the conference couldn’t get more Canadian, Tiff 2012 announced the next wave of hometown content to appear at this year’s festival.
“Through comedy, thrills, drama and suspense, films in the lineup present stories of youth and violence, coming of age, the environment, dysfunctional families, sex and celebrity,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer of the festival.
“From intimate, affecting stories with big impact to films with global scope, the Canadian films in this year’s Festival will move audiences”.
Screenings include:
Antiviral (North American Premiere)
Brandon Cronenberg, USA/Canada
Starring Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Douglas Smith, Malcolm McDowell
An employee at a clinic,...
- 8/8/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
In the last major update for the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 slate, they’ve announced their Canadian features. The line-up includes Sarah Polley’s upcoming documentary Stories We Tell, coming off her Take This Waltz this summer (which also premiered at Tiff). The other major films include two we’ve seen at Cannes,one being Brandon Cronenberg‘s Antiviral, which premiered alongside his father’s Cosmopolis. We disliked it (full review), saying it came off as an “an amateurish, high-budget student film.” The other major title is Xavier Dolan‘s Laurence Anyways, which we loved (full review), calling it a major step forward for the filmmaker. Check out the rest of the titles below, which I’m sure will include many discoveries.
Antiviral Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere
Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.
Antiviral Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere
Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.
- 8/8/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
★★★★☆ Surely one of the frontrunners for this year's coveted Berlinale Golden Bear award, Kim Nguyen's War Witch (Rebelle, 2012) is a harrowing exploration of life as one of Africa's child soldiers, following Komona (Rachel Mwanza), a young girl who is kidnapped from her village by a group of rebel fighters. Forced to gun down members of the government army, Komona takes solace in fellow soldier Magicien (Serge Kanyinda), a young albino who later becomes her boyfriend, escaping their unit in order to start a new life together.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 2/17/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Shadow Dancer
It's been a good week for festival news junkies. Sundance has opened, Rotterdam's full schedule is now online, Cannes has named Nanni Moretti as President of the Jury for the 65th edition in May, and the Berlinale's been rolling out lineup after lineup. Today's addition: "With seven more films, the Competition program of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival is nearing completion. To date it includes 22 films, of which 17 are vying for the Golden and Silver Bears. 18 films will celebrate their world premieres in the Competition of the Berlinale 2012."
So, the story so far:
À moi seule (Coming Home). France. By Frédéric Videau (Le fils de Jean-Claude Videau, Variéte Francaise). With Agathe Bonitzer and Reda Kateb. World premiere.
Bel Ami. Great Britain. By Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod (feature debut). With Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci. World premiere / Out of Competition.
En kongelig affære...
It's been a good week for festival news junkies. Sundance has opened, Rotterdam's full schedule is now online, Cannes has named Nanni Moretti as President of the Jury for the 65th edition in May, and the Berlinale's been rolling out lineup after lineup. Today's addition: "With seven more films, the Competition program of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival is nearing completion. To date it includes 22 films, of which 17 are vying for the Golden and Silver Bears. 18 films will celebrate their world premieres in the Competition of the Berlinale 2012."
So, the story so far:
À moi seule (Coming Home). France. By Frédéric Videau (Le fils de Jean-Claude Videau, Variéte Francaise). With Agathe Bonitzer and Reda Kateb. World premiere.
Bel Ami. Great Britain. By Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod (feature debut). With Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci. World premiere / Out of Competition.
En kongelig affære...
- 1/21/2012
- MUBI
Andrea Riseborough in James Marsh's Shadow Dancer Robert Pattinson/Bel Ami, Michael Fassbender/Haywire: Berlin Film Festival 2012 Below is the list of the latest movie additions to the Berlin Film Festival's Official Competition line-up: À moi seule (Coming Home). France. By Frédéric Videau (Le fils de Jean-Claude Videau, Varieté Française). With Agathe Bonitzer, Reda Kateb. World premiere. Bel Ami, Great Britain. By Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod (feature debut). With Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, Breaking Dawn Part 2, Eclipse, New Moon, Twilight, Remember Me, Water for Elephants, Cosmopolis), Uma Thurman (Henry & June, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, Gattaca, Playing the Field), Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient, Dans la maison, Sarah's Key, Love Crime, Nowhere Boy, Tell No One, Gosford Park, The Horse Whisperer, Mission: Impossible), Christina Ricci (Speed Racer, Fear and the Loathing in Las Vegas, The Opposite of Sex,...
- 1/20/2012
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
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