Sometimes in April is another strong and daring film from HBO
chronicling the brutal genocide of the Tutsi people by Hutu
nationalists in the African nation of Rwanda
(this was also the grueling subject matter of 2004’s Hotel Rwanda).
Writer and director Raoul Peck has taken these horrible events and put
a face to both the horror and the humanity, not afraid to point
fingers and underline the mistakes that were made.
The story begins in the present and it revolves around Augustin
(Idris Elba), an ex-soldier for the Hutu government who lost his Tutsi
wife and kids in the horrible events and is trying to go on with his
life. His girlfriend is pregnant and his brother, Honore (Oris
Orhuero), which he has turned his back on, is currently being tried
for possible crimes he committed during the genocide. Honore was a
radio host who used his strong Hutu political opinions to unknowingly
incite the Hutus nationalists into carrying out their heinous plans of
wiping out all of the Tutsis. Honore asks for his brother to come
meet him and Augustin reluctantly agrees.
This is where the story begins to alternate between the present day
and the days of the actual genocide. In April of 1994, the Hutu
president’s plane is shot down by what was then thought to be rebel
Tutsis (turned out to be Hutus trying to speed up the eventual
slaughter). Through the inciting speeches over the radio by Hutu
extremists, they spark the Hutus into believing the Tutsis are
responsible and encourage them to wipe out the Tutsi race once and for
all in one fail swoop. There is a lot of uncomfortable history and
power struggles between the two tribes throughout
Rwanda’s history. So these 1994 events lit the final match in
sparking the awful genocide that takes place where almost a million
Tutsis (and Hutus siding with Tutsis) are slaughtered in horrid
manners (many by machete) throughout the streets of Rwanda. While
this all unfolds, the U.S. and other superpowers just sit and do
nothing. The U.S., still reeling from the failures in Somalia,
looks to the U.N. to assist but the U.N. is unable to help. The main
voice for intervention from the U.S. government came from Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Prudence Bushnell (Debra Winger) who
tries as best she can to convince the government to step in.
The film mostly focuses on Augustin’s personal struggles to survive
and keep his Tutsi family alive during the chaos. He trusts his
brother, who helps spark the uprising with his radio broadcasts, to
take his family to a safe place the brother knows of. But during the
ride (Augustin stayed behind), they are stopped and most of his family
is slaughtered by the Hutus while his brother survives. Augustin’s
wife does survive for a few more days in a church that ends up being
overtaken by the Hutus who do unspeakable things to the Tutsi women
before slaughtering them. Augustin also learns to his horror that
his daughter’s school is also under attack from the Hutus and he tries
to rescue her before it’s too late. In the present day, Augustin
struggles to lead a normal life and tries to figure out whether he can
ever forgive his brother for what he’s done.
CRITIQUE
Sometimes in April is a brutal, intelligent and sensitively
written and directed film that chronicles a truly horrible event in
world history by giving it a deeply human story. The film is hard to
watch but the engaging story and wonderful acting make it hard to look
away.
The only piece of the film that didn’t work for me was the slipping
back and forth between present day and the unfolding events in 1994.
The events leading into the genocide (the actual history mixed with
Augustin’s personal journey) are so riveting, that the less
interesting present time events only serve to interrupt the flow of
the piece. There were times I wished I could fast forward the present
day pieces and get back to the true brunt of the tale (set during
genocide). I’ve never been a big fan of using tons of flashbacks or
flash forwards; they just interrupt the story flow and emotional build
up.
But this is an amazing film anchored by a tremendous performance
from Idris Elba, who was consistently remarkable on The Wire,
and shows a whole other side to his persona here. Elba
brings such an intense gravitas to the character (which is his strong
point) but he also shows a much softer, emotional side. Elba is able
to run the gamut emotionally with this character and he truly
impresses. The supporting cast ranges from very good to quite
amateurish. Debra Winger comes across the strongest as the no
nonsense Bushnell while Orhuero and some of the smaller cast roles
come across much weaker with an almost amateur feel.
The film is beautifully written and directed from Raoul Peck who
manages to pack in riveting and important history and back-story on
the two warring tribes while expertly maintaining this personal
struggle with his main character. He has no hesitation in pointing
the finger of blame towards the superpowers and it’s an important film
for understanding the roles of world politics and when it’s needed for
the U.N. and other superpowers to step in.
THE
VIDEO
The transfer (16:9 aspect ratio) is meticulously clean; the colors
are vibrant and rich. The Rwanda
landscape (it was filmed in its entirety where the actual events
unfolded in Rwanda) looks lush and gorgeous. There were a few grainy
sections during some nighttime sequences but overall this is a quality
transfer.
THE
AUDIO
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and it is exceptionally
lucid and crisp; the balances are strong (especially during the action
scenes) and the surround is dynamic and active.
THE
EXTRAS
Commentary with Writer/Director Raoul Peck conducted by critic
Elvis Mitchell – This is a very unique approach for the commentary, having such a
high profile film critic conduct the commentary by asking the director
questions throughout, and it really works well. Mitchell asks all the
right questions during this, keeping the commentary on track and
pointed. He’s able to be both a critic and a fan without dodging any
hard subjects. And Peck delivers his answers very passionately and
takes the viewer into the heart of why the film was made and what it
was like for him and the cast to shoot it. The best sections are
about the superpowers lack of response and the casting discussions.
This is a very entertaining, unique and informative commentary track.
Making Sometimes in April Featurette
– This is your standard making of featurette with interviews from all
the cast and crew mainly focusing on the actors’ experiences. It’s
most interesting parts are in the discussions about what it was like
to shoot the film less than 10 years after the events occurred in the
actual areas they took place in. The actors were more than just
humbled and most said this experience has forever changed them. The
featurette also shows the film’s debut, which was played to a large
outdoor audience of Rwandans and what this experience was like for the
director and cast. This is an informative and sometimes touching
featurette.
100 Days of Genocide Timeline – This is a great extra that details
out the most important events and political speeches that happened
both before, during and after the horrible events. It’s just a
written timeline that you scroll through with your DVD remote but the
information is hard-hitting and poignant.
A Rwandan Photo Essay – This is a bunch of photographs taken during
the genocide that range from touching to horrifying to beautiful.
FINAL
THOUGHTS
Sometimes in April is
an intelligently directed and written film with a truly magnificent
lead performance and an absolutely riveting (and horrifying) story.
Although the flashbacks didn’t work for me and the supporting cast is
only adequate, the film is riveting and it resonates long after.
