Review of A Screaming Man (2010) by Thomas G — 15 Jan 2012

This close to Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, I decided to watch an piece of African cinema known as "A Screaming Man", which is about a 60 year-old champion swimmer that now works as a pool cleaner at a hotel in the country of Chad with his son. Despite trying to maintain peace in the only place that he believes he fits, there is constant, bloody civil wat going on in Chad. He and his son are forced to make difficult decisions while being crushed by pressure to support their government. I enjoyed the film myself. I loved watching the relationship between the father and his son play out, and their are times of the film that are tragic, and it is even interesting to watch a film like this, that really does display a sort of culture. I feel that because there is so much turmoil in African countries, that gives support and inspiration to make these kind of films.

But the problem with a film like this (at least for American audiences) is that they may not be used to this sort of culture and turmoil that goes on in these countries. Another problem is that it is confusing at times, and it is hard to follow. It was for me, at least for the first thirty minutes. But that does not make the film any less worth watching, at least once.