I mentioned the documentary War/Dance briefly in the "What I've Seen" section, but I wanted to elaborate a bit more, since I'm really in love with everything about this movie. It's not just its story of how three teens from war-torn Northern Uganda who've suffered all sorts of tragedies are able to find happiness, but also because of the gorgeous way that co-director Sean Fine filmed it.
There have been plenty of documentaries about the horrors of war, particularly in Africa, and how it affects the locals, but there's something very powerful about how directors Sean and Andrea Nix Fine set up shop in the Patongo refugee camp, found three young people with strong stories, and turned it into a joyous tale of how song and dance can help one overcome even the worst of tragedies.
Although the main story is about the Patonga Primary School being admitted for the first time into the National Song and Dance Competition in Kampala, it's really about these three kids: 13-year-old Rose and 14-year-olds Dominic and Nancy. Each of them has suffered the tragedy of watching a close relative be abducted or killed by the rebel forces, who have forced their tribe of thousands to live at the Patonga detainment camp. It's a dangerous world they live in, and yet, when they're singing, dancing or in Dominic's case, playing his makeshift xylophone, they're able to forget about the problems around them and enjoy their childhoods.
It's quite dramatic to watch these kids rehearsing and preparing for this competition, wearing the requisite smiles on their faces, interspersed with their horrifying stories. Sean Fine gets his camera everywhere and get the film's young characters to open up to them. The scenes of the villagers and their vibrant colored costumes add another level of beauty to what few would consider the happiest place on earth.
Eventually, it gets to the competition itself, which is structured more like "Spellbound." The kids are suitably nervous, having never been out of their village, and they're clearly the underdogs, mocked by the other schools since they're from the war-torn North, but also finding enormous support from the audience. Considering these kids' tragic roots, you can't help but root for them every step of the way.
This is already one of the year's best docs, not only for the Fines' amazing coverage, letting us hear these kids' stories in their own words, but also for creating such a crowd-pleasing celebration of life within such a terrible environment.
