God Grew Tired Of Us: The Story Of The Lost Boys Of
Sudan (Documentary)
Picture: C+ Sound: C Extras: B Film: B
Sudan is
one of the many places where ugly genocide, poverty and strife have been a
daily occurrence. As relief from a
brutal civil war, three young men (John, Panther and Daniel) get a chance to
travel to The United States and Christopher Quinn’s impressive new documentary God Grew Tired Of Us (2006) starts with
their finding their names on a list of where they are going. Two land up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the
other in Syracuse, New York. They are
out of contact with much of their family and friends, if they even know where
they are to begin with.
First
comes the culture shock, along with the disbelief of the simplest inconveniences. The guys are sincere and charming, more aware
of reality than many of the persons they run into (especially in Pittsburgh)
and pick up many things quickly. It is
not easy to be half way around the world and integrate. Of course, there are those who don’t know how
to react at all, but these visitors have more important things to pay attention
to. Not everything is perfect, there are
rough spots too, but this becomes more involving the more you watch like the
best documentaries of its kind.
Nicole
Kidman narrates and what is written for her is never overdone, too long or
dumb. The cites visited and land left
behind become characters of their own to some extent, but Quinn and his crew
pull off a powerful enough work that it deserves to get as much attention as
possible. National Geographic and
Newmarket co-produced this exceptional work in an increasingly crowded and
interesting field. Even if you are not
one for documentaries, this should be on your must-see list.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.85 X 1 image was in various video formats by Paul Daley and Bunt
Young. There are flaws and limits, but
the camera and shot choices are above average for the many, many productions
(dramatic and documentary) that we have seen in recent (and usually sloppy)
video production. Part of it comes from
taking the subject mater seriously and being able to focus on it. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is an ambitious
attempt to stretch out the location audio, but it thins it out instead, but the
sound here is fine for a documentary otherwise.
The Jamie Saft score is smart, as was his work for Murderball, reviewed elsewhere on this site. The music does not always dominate the mix
either. Extras include a behind the
scenes featurette called Finding The Lost Boys and commentary by the director and boys
turned men of Sudan.
- Nicholas Sheffo
