Review of White Material (2010) by Thomas M — 21 May 2013

J. Hoberman used the word "lysergic" in his review and that's pretty apt because the Tindersticks soundtrack, used sparingly, does provide a hazy druggy sheen to parts of the movie. Isabelle Huppert is determined to ignore the trouble that is all around her as the colonial era comes to a decided end in her part of Africa.

Claire Denis's film unblinkingly covers the terrain: both rebels and the military armed and dangerous along with child soldiers seemingly in their own militia and perhaps much more dangerous. The social and psychological effects of white settlement (and ownership -- Huppert runs a coffee plantation) in Africa are the focus -- the unnamed country is divided by their feelings toward the outsiders (even those born there).

Denis, also born and raised in Africa, provides impressions, images, something of a story, to show the legacy of (French) involvement and exploitation. Shot in Cameroon, this is a beautiful horrifying and unresolved film.