Darfur Now
It's not easy to make an
uplifting film about genocide, but Darfur Now does its best to be
just that.
It looks at the current
tragic occurrences in the small country, not by looking at the horror but
instead focusing on some of the people who are trying to change things.
Of course, the fact that
the great majority of these are not actually from Darfur does give the film
a tiny bit of an outside-looking-in distance. This can be both a plus
for a viewer (the horror and the death are easier to endure and understand)
and a minus (the distance can obviously dilute the power of the situation.)
For example, co-producer
and one of the film subjects, actor Don Cheadle obviously cares
deeply about the subject. He has written a book. He has talked
to world leaders. He's gotten celeb friends like George Clooney to
help spread the word. It is wonderful that he is giving his time
and his celebrity for the cause. At the same time, somehow what the
two Californians profiled in this films do seem somewhat small when
compared to their cohorts.
After all, the others are
more hands-on -- dealing with the horror in their face on a daily basis.
Comparatively handing out stickers on Venice Beach seems a little
superficial.
It is not, of course.
As Darfur Now points out so persuasively the best way to end the
horror is to bring it to peoples' attention. We can all do our part --
big or little -- in order to foster peace. Still, the guy trying to
get the proponents of torture to the international courts or the guy who
moves to Darfur to be able to deliver supplies -- their roles just seem more
heroic.
Darfur Now
may pull a few punches, but it does the job it sets out
to do -- spreading
the word about horrors which do not get enough airing.
Jay S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2007 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: November 2, 2007.
