war dance
May 5th, 2008 by indigo-daisy
Just happened to glance at this in the video store while passing by and was drawn to it by the beautiful cover and all the awards it won. With that many awards it was sure to be good.
Turns out it was beyond good, it reached right in my soul and made me sit up and pay attention. Beware and don’t watch without a box of tissues sitting right next to you. In some scenes the tears flowed no matter how hard I tried to hold them back.
This was a documentary revolving around the refugee camp of Patongo in northern Uganda were over 50,000 displaced members of the Acholi tribe lived under military protection from a rebel terrorist group called the Lords Resistance Army. The children of the Patongo Primary School for the first time qualified to participate in a music and dance competition in Kampala.
The story followed three children in particular, 13 year old Rose, 14 year old Nancy and 14 year old Dominic.
The horrific events that these children witnessed were such that any human being should never have to live through let alone a small innocent child. Just to give an example, one of the girls had been taken by the rebels and brought out to the bush to identify her dead parent’s whom they had just killed. She remembered with utmost clarity one of the rebels pulling her mothers head out of a large pot.
As I was watching this, my thoughts kept going back to the realization that this was not a script; these were actual events that had actually happened to these children.
The cinematography in the film was a welcome relief to the children’s stark reality. I don’t recall ever seeing a sunset so beautiful even in real life, one in particular had a deep indigo blue sky surrounded by a vibrant fiery orange red light mixed in with dark clouds above and green grass below all in the same view. I guess this sort of represented the beauty amidst their pain. The beauty being that this competition gave these children a sense of purpose and self worth.
The movie takes you through both the preparation for the competition and the actual competition itself where the children, some for the first time in their life leave the camp to go compete with other schools in their country in song and traditional dance.
If every you get to feeling that your in a situation so bad that you can’t bear to face another day, these very special children are sure to inspire you. For they have found in music and dance the ability to find their own special place which gave them the courage and strength to let go of the past and move on.
Heart-rending story. You do a wonderful job of describing the beauty of the spirit and what we all can gain from hearing and telling our stories. Whether in song, dance, gardening or cooking, whatever the art we choose, the creative spirit heals.
Welcome Vickie and thank you for your kind comments. I agree that there is something truly healing in a creative spirit.
Dear Deborah:
Thank you for your kind comment on my poem, but when I clicked on your link icon and was sent happily to your own blog I came across War Dance and am thrilled to hear (and see) about it. I lived in Nigeria for a year in the late 70s, and connect to Africa in some strange deep way… though I never heard as sweet a music as on the movie site, hearing mostly High Life music in the market place blasted over somewhat bad PA systems… Somehow when the tragedies are the most horrible the hopefulness is most poignant. These kids singing and dancing and even smiling against such odds… it’s really moving.
Thanks again, and blessings on your own poems, one of which, at the bottom of the page, a dream poem, I enjoyed a lot!
It sounds like it is right up my alley! Thanks for bringing a new choice into my options
Thank you Daniel for stopping by. It really is an honor to have you pay a visit and even comment on my poem. Coming from a master poet it made my day.
I found it interesting that you feel a connection with Africa, I am originally from the Midwest and feel a strong connection with the Middle East, a connection that seems beyond family that I can’t quite explain.
Blessings,
Deborah
I think besides the people you will also love the cinematography MG, it was quite breathtaking and colorful.