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Darfur Now
Warner Independent Pictures, 99mins, PG
Written and Directed
by Theodore Braun
A few weeks ago, Time Magazine had an article on how breast cancer
cases were exploding throughout the world. It seems that all the
marches and runs and such haven't been doing all that much to cure
the dread disease. But that wasn't exactly the point of all those
pink ribbons. The point was to give those concerned about the
disease or survived it the feeling that they were at least doing
something, and to make them feel good about it.
This film is sort of like a breast cancer run or one of those pink
ribbons. It won't do a damn thing to prevent or cure anything, but
it'll hopefully aid awareness of the problem and make the people who
made the film feel good about themselves, but aside from that….I
dunno.
Theodore Braun has made what appears to be one of the happiest
documentaries about atrocities ever made. Sure, they show a few dead
bodies, and yes they have the testimony of the genuine horrors that
are occurring every day in western Sudan, but it's mostly about
around half a dozen people who are attempting to do something about
the situation, and while, except in one case, failing miserably,
succeed symbolically and thus build self esteem.
The film centers around a disparate bunch: Hejewa Adam, a Darfur
native whose baby was killed by the Janjaweed ("devils on
horseback"), has taken up arms with the rebel army; Don Cheadle and
George Clooney, who use their celebrity to publicize the crisis;
Adam Sterling, a waiter who's efforts include handing out leaflets
in Santa Monica in order to publicize a bill to divest California of
Sudanese investments; Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court in the Hague, who back in the day
brought members of the Argentine junta to justice right after the
Falklands War; and Pablo Recalde, who runs the World Food Program in
West Darfur, running his supply trucks through a gauntlet of gunfire
and hijackings.
While its nice to root for Ms. Adam, whose officers proclaim that
the white men are going to come any day now to save them [yeah,
sure] and its even nicer to see how a bill gets through the state
legislature [does anyone think the California legislature is going
to vote DOWN a bill taking such an easy and painless stand?], The
efforts of Moreno-Ocampo and Pablo Recalde actually mean something.
Sure they are more than happy to let the filmmakers follow them
around for the cause, and watching the food program send convoys of
food and supplies into harm's way is great. There's an air of danger
in Recalde's segment, as well as Adam's and that of Ahmed Mohammed
Akbar, who runs a refugee camp and gathered the witnesses to give
testimony to Braun and his crew.
But Braun seems to let the film seem all to comfortable with itself,
especially when it comes to Cheadle and Clooney. They go jet-setting
throughout the World, getting pats on the head from leaders in China
and Egypt. Somehow they think this is progress, and the indictments
of the leaders of the genocide backfired badly when one of the
people charged was appointed head of the relief effort.
The film barely scratches the surface. This is a feel-good film for
activists. I'll believe it when the UN sends the Marines to arrest
somebody.
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