Review of Ghosts of Cité Soleil (2006) by Andrew L — 16 Aug 2007

Pretty interesting look at an intense way of life I will never experience. I was put off by the stylized look of the film as I felt by doing that the filmmakers were trying to make these thugs look "cool", but at the same time the story of the two brothers is sad.

Someone with a good deal of knowledge about the politics in Haiti would have a better background to go on because this movie throws facts at you as almost a side note to the story line, and what felt like a tacked on love triangle (which seemed like it was staged).

All in all, worth watching but not so much for documentary purposes. My main complaint with this is that it seems like they have constructed a soap opera out of these peoples very real and very tragically scary lives, which I dont agree with, I almost felt like the filmmakers exploited the brothers misery in order to make a gritty documentary to shop around to film festivals.

The lack of objective distance is the films biggest flaw. If there wasn't a bond formed between the filmmakers and the subjects, chances are they would have been shot after a few days, but it's this inside look at their lives that makes it all the more interesting, and tragic.