Darfur Now – DVD Review

Sudan is the largest Country in Africa. In the west there are three states: West, North and South Darfur. There is a war that has been raging there since 2003. The United Nations estimates that as many as 400,000 people have died from violence or disease due to living conditions. Some are calling it genocide. Darfur Now is a documentary about what six people across the globe are doing to put an end to this madness.

What is happening in Darfur is very complicated and to expand on it too much here would be to get away from what this review is really about: the film. But some more information will be helpful to better understand. This war is being waged over land. In the north are the nomadic camel-herding tribes. To the south are the farmers. The nomads feel the farmers have stolen their land and they want it back. Where things turn horrible is the government is providing money and weapons to the north as well as authorizing the Janjaweed, a militia group that goes into farming villages and proceed to kill, beat, rape and burn the villages to the ground. While most of this information is laid out in the film I had to go to wikipedia to work out some of the details.

When atrocities such as these are happening in places so far removed from the world we live in, it is easy to ignore what is going on and not be aware. This film succeeds in bringing to some of what is going on and to make sure it gets some attention it turns to a celebrity. Some might see this as a cheap move, but in our cinematic world today of blockbusters and stars you need a recognizable face, even in a documentary, if you want a large amount of people to take notice. In Darfur Now we get Don Cheadle, a man who is no stranger to atrocities in Africa with his role in Hotel Rwanda. Don Cheadle is a very passionate involved man who truly cares and wants to make a difference. In this film we follow Don as he not only writes a book about what is going and what we can do, but he travels, with George Clooney, to China and Egypt to enlist the help of their governments to help in the Darfur crisis.

Our other American character is a young man named Adam Sterling whose goal is to create a bill that would stop California from helping the Sudanese government in any financial way. From standing on the street corner collecting signatures to the office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, with Don Cheadle by his side, we follow him in this journey.

Next we travel to England and the International Criminal Court where prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentinean who helped try war criminals in his own country truly believes that those who are wrong will be brought to justice. We follow him as he collects evidence to prove without a shadow of a doubt that members of the Sudanese government are involved in the atrocities.

Finally we travel to Darfur where we meet our last three subjects. First we have Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Abakar, leader of one of the many displacement camps who struggles everyday to greet the new refugees who are constantly arriving and finding a place for them as well as quelling local disputes.

Pablo Recalde, works for World Food Programs and attempts to get food to those people who need it. We follow him as he sets up a convoy of trucks loaded with foods and backed by a small armed escort. Many of these convoys are attacked by the Janjaweed to prevent the food from getting where it needs to go.

Lastly we have easily the most heartbreaking of all the stories. Hejewa Adam was happily married for ten years and had a one-year-old son when the Janjaweed came into her village and beat her ruthlessly. At the time her son was on her back and he died in the beating. She also lost her husband and her village. Now she is a member of the Sudan Liberation Movement, an armed rebel force determined to stop the Janjaweed.

All these stories are cut together in a very effective way and we watch as each of them strives for their goal. Some reach theirs, some don’t. The atrocities are still happening and that is the point of this film. Things like the Holocaust and Rwanda only received help when it was too late. In Darfur it is not yet too late and we can act now to help stop this genocide from being completed. The film doesn’t really spell out what you yourself can do about it but at the end it does suggest you go to their website to find out.

The film is presented in widescreen 1.77:1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. English subtitles. This is a very well polished documentary. Well shot with good solid sound.

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Theodore Braun: This commentary is available with English subtitles for the hearing impaired. Sadly his comments shed little more light. Theodore Braun spends most of his time just describing what is happening on the screen and why they chose to show what they showed.

Additional Scenes: (32 min.) These are very fascinating scenes that add to the story of Darfur Now. There is even a scene that gives the point of view of the nomads from the north. It is understandable why they were taken out but they are certainly worth watching.

Trailers

This is a solid documentary that explains what is going on in Darfur still today. It’s not the most entertaining film and at times is hard to watch but at the same time it is an important subject that should not be ignored. And at a price of $4.99 what could it hurt to sit down for an hour and a half and be educated on what is going in a small part of our world.

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Warner Bros. presents Darfur Now. Directed by Theodore Braun. Starring Don Cheadle, Adam Sterling, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Abakar, Pablo Recalde and Hejewa Adam. Written by Theodore Braun. Running time: 98 minutes. Rated PG. Released on DVD: May 27, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.