Getting close to decision time

northbard encouraged me to say this:

I'm voting for Joe. He's been my councillor for a while now, and I think he'd make a good mayor.

(I'm also voting for Mike.)

Film Festival Film #10: A Screaming Man

I saw my last film Sunday night: A Screaming Man by African director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. It was the third and final showing of the film, and we didn't get a Q&A afterward (a lot of the industry types start leaving the city before the end of the festival).

Plot: Adam (called "Champ" by most people who know him, because he won a swimming championship in his youth) works at the pool in a luxury hotel in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. His 20-year-old son, Abdel, works with him. Champ lives with his wife and son in a modest home in town, and he has a relatively comfortable life. He enjoys his work; his friend, David, is a chef at the hotel, and he gets to drive to and from work in the moped motorcycle (with sidecar!) that goes along with his job. The only dark cloud is that Chad is still war-torn, with rebels and government forces periodically clashing in various locations around the country

And then the hotel is bought by new owners, who begin changing things up. David, the chef, is fired. And they don't see much point in having two people working by the pool. Champ is reassigned to work at the hotel gate in an ill-fitting uniform, lifting up the barrier any time someone is trying to drive in or out of the hotel's parking lot.

Champ is clearly ashamed at this turn of events. And his son seems a bit dickish about it all, too. He tries to go about his work, but he clearly feels like his pride has taken a blow, and he seems to spend his time quietly seething. And he has other issues, too. One of the people in his neighbourhood coordinates the people's contributions to the war effort. Champ is behind in his payments. If you don't chip in, it kinda looks like you support the rebels.

And then the suggestion is made: Abdel is the ideal age to be drafted into the army. That's a worthy contribution. We never see what Champ's response to this is, but shortly after that, soldiers arrive to collect Abdel; Champ hears this happening outside, but remains indoors, out of sight, as the soldiers take Abdel away.

And, after that, Champ has his job at the pool back. He briefly seems to be back into his old rhythm. But he spends a lot of time listening to radio reports about army clashes with the rebels.

When Abdel's pregnant girlfriend shows up, looking for Abdel, the guilt starts eating away at Champ. He goes to his neighbour, offering to take his son's place in the army, but Champ is too old.

And it becomes clear that the war is not going well. People are leaving the city because it looks like the rebels are close to taking over. One day, the hotel manager tells Champ that he's the only staff member that showed up to work that day.

Primarily the film is trying to portray Champs inner emotional states. First, as a man whose pride has been wounded, and then as a father who is wracked by guilt for having engineered his son's drafting. The film is beautiful, but these inner states don't always make for great visual moments. I liked the film; it did feel a little long in places. It did have a wonderful understated quality. And each evolution of the story is introduced subtly and slowly. A good film, but not in my top three, I think.