Canadian filmmaker Kim Nguyen brings this brutally stark and heart-rendering drama to the screen.
Rachel Mwanza gives a magnificent performance as Komona, a young African girl kidnapped from her impoverished village, in an unnamed African country, and forcibly conscripted into a rebel military force fighting against the government. The movie details the horrors she subsequently faced from the ages of 12 to 14.
On her first mission as a child soldier, the ghosts of her parents appear to warn her of an impending ambush from government forces. The leader of the rebels, named the Grand Tiger, anoints her as his war witch due to her supernatural powers which can help them in combat. As a war witch, she receives a higher status within the rebel group.
Komona befriends a young soldier, named Magician, also superbly played by Serge Kanyinda. When Magician warns Komona that the Grand Tiger has killed the last three war witches, she agrees to run off with him and escape the rebel forces.
With their bond deepening, Magiciain asks Komona to marry him, but her father had told her that he must present to her a white rooster before any wedding can take place. This becomes an interesting and rather touching part of the story as Magician tries to find her the extremely rare fowl. Komona eventually marries Magician and becomes pregnant with his child.
I won't go into more plot details, as I'll leave them to the viewer. However, I will say that the rebels come looking for their war witch and that Komona must resort to increasingly desperate and brutal measures to try and save herself and her baby.
In summary, despite the film being difficult to watch at times with its' starkly depicted violent realism, I found it to be well worth hanging in there. The powerful performances, writing, and direction, made it a movie that stayed with me long after it was over.
Rachel Mwanza gives a magnificent performance as Komona, a young African girl kidnapped from her impoverished village, in an unnamed African country, and forcibly conscripted into a rebel military force fighting against the government. The movie details the horrors she subsequently faced from the ages of 12 to 14.
On her first mission as a child soldier, the ghosts of her parents appear to warn her of an impending ambush from government forces. The leader of the rebels, named the Grand Tiger, anoints her as his war witch due to her supernatural powers which can help them in combat. As a war witch, she receives a higher status within the rebel group.
Komona befriends a young soldier, named Magician, also superbly played by Serge Kanyinda. When Magician warns Komona that the Grand Tiger has killed the last three war witches, she agrees to run off with him and escape the rebel forces.
With their bond deepening, Magiciain asks Komona to marry him, but her father had told her that he must present to her a white rooster before any wedding can take place. This becomes an interesting and rather touching part of the story as Magician tries to find her the extremely rare fowl. Komona eventually marries Magician and becomes pregnant with his child.
I won't go into more plot details, as I'll leave them to the viewer. However, I will say that the rebels come looking for their war witch and that Komona must resort to increasingly desperate and brutal measures to try and save herself and her baby.
In summary, despite the film being difficult to watch at times with its' starkly depicted violent realism, I found it to be well worth hanging in there. The powerful performances, writing, and direction, made it a movie that stayed with me long after it was over.