The Silent Army

So, ALL of that said, Anna and I are currently in “the big city” for some R&R. What does R&R look like in the big city? Alarmless mornings, boda’s, restaurants (ie. diversity of food without having to make it from scratch!), and the list goes on, but probably the most fun thing we do when we’re in the big city is go to see movies!

Travis and Amy told us they read in the newspaper when they were in Kampala the week before last about a movie showing that was a Dutch movie about the child solier tragedies in Africa. Maybe some of you have heard about the work of Invisible Children, some of you have read or seen reports in the news in the last 2 decades or so of Joseph Kony and his LRA, but the horrors are real. And these stories are not alone, in various places throughout this continent, men like Kony have been terrorizing societies by literally stealing their children, physcially, psychologically, emotionally, sexually...This movie, The Silent Army, tells the story of a young African boy and his young Dutch friend and the story of how their lives intersect with these horrors. The story is not particular to Uganda, but was partially filmed here and Ugandan actors/actresses star in the movie, made by a Dutchman who was raised in the DRC, filmed partially in South African and based to some degree on the story of Charles Taylor and the rebels in Sierra Leone. A story of child soldiers in Africa...a winner at the Cannes Film Festival, but not the Oscars...

But before you all rush out to find and watch it (since the topic is so enticing and all…), this movie is NOT for the faint of heart. This movie, in my opinion, makes Blood Diamond and it’s story of child soldiers in Sierra Leone and their intersection with the diamond industry, seem almost like “child’s play” (no pun intended). Maybe it’s just my current frame of mind or recent experiences, or the literal proximity of the situation to my own current one…I’m not sure, but it was raw…up close and personal whereas Blood Diamond is a bit more polished and Hollywood-ified…there are cultural tidbits throughout the movie that drew me in, phrases in Luganda that children in my life use everyday, cultural norms, topography, views of bridges I have driven over, that make the reality of the horrors hit close to home, that makes the horror more horrible…

Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was VERY well done, but I did spend a good part of the 2 hours with my sweatshirt infront of my eyes…