Rating:  

Starring: Cassandra Freeman, Edouard Bamporiki, Cleophas Kabasita, Mazimpaka Kennedy, Hadidja Zaninka, Hassan Kabera, Abdallah Uwimana, Marc Gwamaka, Mutsan Jean, Kena Onyenjekwe, Assumpta Micho, Ayuub Kasasa Mago, Watta Hezekis.
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Director: Alrick Brown
Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Release Date: December 2, 2011
Home Video Release Date: TBD
Box Office: $22 Thousand
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Blok Box IMG, Cineduc Rwanda, Commission Europeenne, KinyarwandaMovie, Visigoth Pictures, and AFFRM.

Written by: Alrick Brown; Story Consultants Patricia Janvier and Charles Plath; Story by Alrick Brown and Ishmael Ntihabose.

One of the more unique films I have seen recently, in terms of how it presents and approaches grim and previously reported subject matter, Kinyarwandais a moving and engrossing film dealing with a varying number of stories tied in and around the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The film’s title, the name of the official language of the Rwandan people, is an astute one – as first-time director Alrick Brown presents several vignettes which show how different elements of the population were affected during a terrible summer not all that long ago.

Brown has a novel approach with his first feature-length film, crafted with consultants and others who were embedded in the Rwandan genocide, and the film begins in the most unexpected of ways, continuing to surprise every step of the way. Brown begins his film with song and dance, as a group of young adults are having a party and two of those in attendance, Jean (Hadidja Zaninka) and Patrique (Marc Gwamaka), are smitten with one another. They exchange glances, they flirt, and they joke and Patrique desperately wants just one kiss. Holding hands, they walk home and are frozen for a moment at the sight of a group of rebels standing in front of a group of innocent people, bound and on their knees, crossed up in the escalating conflicts between the Hutus and Tutsis. After Jean and Patrique depart, Jean returns home to a horrific discovery and all at once, the conflict that seemed absent at the party, a mere few hours before, is unshakably front and center in her life.

There are other stories. A young boy, Ishmael (Hassan Kabera), unknowingly and innocently tells Hutu rebels where they can find some Tutsis that they are looking for. An Imam (Abdallah Uwimana) places his trust in a priest, only to be betrayed along with Tutsi refugees he is sheltering. When saved from execution in the most unlikeliest of ways, another Imam takes them in, only to have to make one further journey to a Mosque better equipped to house everyone. A Ugandan sergeant (Cassandra Freeman) aims to find a means to resolution and is in the heart of the conflict trying to use her expertise to find some middle ground which will end the situation. In some of the film’s most breathtaking moments, a reclamation camp houses men who committed murders and other atrocities and attempts to rehabilitate them in the err of their ways. While the film is always compelling, the intensity of the expressions, emotions, and stories being shared in these sequences are downright chilling.

Kinyarwanda is a stunning film at times, largely because no one has bothered to present the Rwandan genocide in this manner. While a tremendous film in its own right, there is something simply unacceptable that 2004′s Hotel Rwanda serves as the only mainstream cinematic point of reference when it comes to a filmed presentation of those 100 horrible days in 1994. The world ignored the unspeakable actions of the Hutus and the Tutsis and the filmmaking world has frankly, ignored the story as well. At least…at the very least…Kinyarwanda tries to step forward and depict the horror alongside the humanity, the sacrifice with the senselessness, and does so in a compelling and accessible fashion. There are difficult and tragic moments that will catch your breath, but Brown strikes a dynamic balance in telling stories behind the war, the blood, and the catastrophe.

In a cast peppered with just a few “actors” and mostly comprised of Rwandans who either experienced the events or have emerged in the generation which followed those shocking 100 days, Kinyarwanda is raw, feels real, and serves as a noteworthy document in a story that the general public, myself included, remain woefully ignorant on. If somehow and in some way Kinyarwanda can find a home either on DVD or cable television, this film can be a benchmark in helping people gain some understanding of the deplorable and unnecessary slaughter of between 500,000 and 1 million Rwandans. It is certainly time.

Should I See It?

The story is important and Alrick Brown does a masterful job in sharing unique stories alongside the more traditional violent elements of what occurred during that particular summer. Watching Kinyarwanda, you would have no idea that this is Alrick Brown’s feature film debut. He is a tremendous writer and director, based on this debut.

There is a lot of endearing work here by non-actors, which add a level of depth and realness to the proceedings. The film has a very organic, labor of love style feel to it.

Some may bristle at the fact that a sizeable portion of the film is in English. Admittedly, that takes some getting used to, as one would likely anticipate the film to be completely subtitled in the native language the film takes its title from.

It is not my opinion, but some may feel that the lighter moments of the film may fail to accurately depict the atrocities which occurred constantly during the conflict.