ABC Africa (Documentary)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: B- Documentary: B
You hear so much about the crisis and suffering in Africa
when it comes to AIDS, but the U.S. media is not giving it the kind of coverage
it deserves. With that crisis comes an
orphan crisis that has been bad for a while now. In 2001, director Abbas Kiarostami (The Wind Will Carry Us)
went with his cameraman Seifollah Samadian at the invitation of the United
Nations International Fund and put faces to the crisis with the impressive ABC
Africa. To this that the situation
has become worse is an international embarrassment.
Though few Ugandans are interviewed, as one critic pointed
out, it does not need to go that route to get the message across of children
suffering by being born into a losing situation and the nightmare that even
Audrey Hepburn in her final visit abroad said she had never seen things so
bad. The images speak for themselves
and are well edited by the director.
One of the most bizarre moments is when an AIDS hospital has propaganda
of images of the now-late Pope John Paul II with messages for people to stay
virgins and stay like children. Part of
the problem with that is AIDS in that country is not necessarily transmitted
the same way. There is a sense of
oppression, racism and ignorance, accompanied by a sense of despair that the
posters are a substitute for real financial and material help. It also points to how similar tactics are
even being used in first world countries like The United States with the same
soulnessness, heartlessness and condescending intent.
Inadvertently, it may also be a record of how the crisis
was continued through international neglect with no end in sight. One scene with complete darkness at night
when electric in the city is turned off is a metaphor, intended or not, for
what the more powerful in the world have allowed to let happen to this part of
it. In this respect, ABC Africa
may be a record of a Holocaust-like atrocity caused by so many parties that
they cannot be held responsible. This
is what is happening as all these good people just kept and keep on dying and
dying; I wondered how many had passed on since this was taped. At least a few since you read this.
The 1.33 X 1 full screen image was shot in DV video, which
is perfect for the trip they took, the country they were in and how light and
compact their journey had to be. The
footage is in great shape. The
featurette is letterboxed 1.78 X 1 and runs under an hour, which covers the
career of Kiarostami and how the content of his films distinguishes him from
other world-class filmmakers. It should
be said that oddly, that some film clips can be played as if they are
anamorphically enhanced and be correctly played back in some cases, but that is
only if you have ratio options and a 16 X 9 monitor and/or projector playback
capacity. Besides that extra, there are
also five trailers for other New Yorker titles, including this one. All in all, this is time well spent and a
memorable experience anyone serious about knowing the world they live in will
want to experience.
- Nicholas Sheffo
