The night of truth

He died in exactly the way shown in the film: they dug a hole, they started a fire, they put him over it, they marinated him and they cooked him for over 12 hours," says Nacro matter-of-factly. "What is strange is that people who see the film think that the barbecue scene is something invented, exaggerated - but that is exactly what happened to my uncle."


La Nuit de la vérité



I am trying to keep watching more, reading more, thinking more....politics should be about getting people to think a little bit more, usually it is about trying to get them to think a little bit less.

Green politics is about several imaginative leaps but of course it risks getting domesticated....don't, don't get me on to the Hills of Tara, demands for a leader, all the short cuts that are cul de sacs or take us further away not nearer.

So watched my first film from Burkina Faso, the wonderful Night of Truth by women director Fanta Régina Nacro.

In an unnamed African country, a civil war has come to an end, the rebel Col Theo and the President are to lead a party with fireworks to cement the peace.

The atmosphere is full of hate, suspicion, racism.....the two ethnic groups the Nayaks and Bonandes are in a situation of stand off.

One of my Nigeria students suggested that wars in Africa are so vicious because they are often about survival in socities with very limited resources.

Nacro's film which is inspired by her own experience of the murder of family members tells us of Rwanda, the Congo, Sierra Leone but it is wider, human beings split into in groups and out groups.

The out group is demonised....the dialogue with the fool in the kitchen insisting that the enemy were not even human but had scales like a snake is telling.

Tells us something about everything from mods and rockers to party factions to football fans.

Raw racism builds especially in situations of economic crisis.....and the crisis takes us on to the IMF, globalisation and the rest, subjects not covered here.

The film is a play really, not a piece of realism, yes the director rips off bits of King Lear but then Shakespeare borrowed from others, art is wiki art.

Very stimulating with several twists, filmed in a few days with real solidiers rather than professional actors it is worth a look.

Anyway a stunning film to watch, you can borrow or buy it from the net. Burkina Faso may be one of the poorest countries in the world but it is rich in culture.

Please take a look at this interview with Nacro here.