War Dance
(THINKFilm/Image DVD Documentary)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Documentary: B
The Sean
Fine/Andrea Nix Fine documentary War
Dance is a pleasant surprise. At
first, I wondered if it would be interesting, boring and/or the same thing we
have seen before about child victims in civil wars in other places of the
world. The title and images are
potentially stereotypical and cliché, but instead, this is about children in
Northern Uganda getting the chance to escape the living hell of war through the
arts.
Groups of
truly innocent children with little chance for anything manage to ignore
potential death (from war, genocide, etc.) but fine solace in their pier groups
and in music. A competition keeps them
involved and when one of the groups wins their way to a national championship,
it becomes more than about song, but survival, pride, empowerment and
possibilities. The compelling 107
minutes is always engaging, as are the children and their families, making us
realize that we can reverse the ugliest of situations if we really want
to. It has to start somewhere and that
the weak and defenseless can find some kind of triumph is always encouraging,
which is why you should see this documentary.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 can be soft, but is shot well, especially
under the circumstances. Color is
consistent and locations are a mix of sad and amazing. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is a little better than
the Dolby 2.0, but both show their location recording circumstances. Extras include a trailer, deleted and
extended scenes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
