Munyurangabo (2007)

Director:

Lee Isaac Chung

Writers:

Samuel Gray Anderson (writer)
Lee Isaac Chung (writer)

Release Date:

15 May 2008 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

An orphan of the Rwandan genocide travels from Kigali to the countryside on a quest for justice.

Plot Keywords:

Africa | Orphan | Genocide

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Jeff Rutagengwa	...	Munyurangabo
Eric Ndorunkundiye	...	Sangwa
Jean Marie Vianney Nkurikiyinka	...	Papa Sangwa
Jean Pierre Harerimana	...	Gwiza
Narcicia Nyirabucyeye	...	Mama Sangwa
Edouard B. Uwayo	...	Poet
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pierre Claver Kayitsinga	...	Killer
Etienne Rugazora	...	Father of Munyurangabo

Runtime:

USA:97 min | Canada:97 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Rwanda | USA

Language:

Kinyarwanda

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Canada:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Rwanda

Company:

Almond Tree Films

Trivia:

This is the first dramatic feature in the Kinyarwanda language.

The promise of permanent reconciliation in Rwanda

According to the director, the film is the product of a movie making course he taught in Rwanda. The result is a fine, unpretentious and heartfelt movie that has a feel of authenticity.

Almost anything Rwanda is today seen through the stain of the 1994 genocide. The memory of that awful event is a core component of the narrative, though it insinuates itself into the plot slowly.

A particularly memorable moment near the end is a declamation of a poem. Because it is long, you should prepare yourself for concentrated attention. Don't miss a word and at the same time hear the rhythmic musicality of the lines. It's an encapsulation of Rwanda and its hope for the future. Powerful and moving. Kudos to the director for including it.

Apparently it is the author of the poem himself that faces us. Not surprisingly he knows the poem by heart and gives it to us fast and furious while his face alternates smiles with melancholic looks, an apt expression to go with what the poem is saying.

The title of the film is explained at the end but a perceptive viewer may pick up the connection early on. Think nickname.

Separating Tutsis from Hutus is not crucial, but those who followed the events of the genocide in the press and acquired a feel for the racial differences between the two groups may sense the underlying tensions between the characters earlier.

One of the blurbs I read before watching the film mentioned both principals playing exiles that return to Rwanda. I don't think this is correct. One of them does come back from exile, the second is befriended by the first in Kigali from where their journey begins.