Review of War Witch (2012) by Mikael K — 10 Apr 2013

Kim Nguyen returns to the theme of warfare around the globe in a hauntigly beautiful and poigant story about Komona, a girl from the Congo whose village is raided by guerilla soldiers when she is 12. Komona is forced to witness the death of her community and has to kill her parents herself as an initiation. As a young, healthy girl, she is kidnapped and forced to become soldier herself. Soon the girl's unique hallucinations and chance intuition raises her to the position of a seer, a "war wich" with the ability to observe the enemy through clairvoyance.

"Rebelle" approaches its gruesome subject with a combination of grim, informed realism and lyrical, subjective surrealism. It's hars but beautiful, rough but contemplative. Nguyen extracts a brilliantly nuanced lead performance out of young Rachel Mwanza; she deserves her acting prizes from the Berlin and Tribeca film festivals.

Komona's story is a journey of epic proportions, and her metamorhosis from a child to a killer to a mother is fascinating if uncomfortable to witness. It's a wonder how the motif of child soldiers can be presented in such an aesthetic and artistic manner without it feeling untrue or ill fitting in any way.