Disappointment for a huge fan!

Best movie ever!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It's not often we're treated to special story telling such as this. Producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (among others) have brought together a strong band of talent to give us a filmic treat. Actress turned Emmy Award winning writer, Margaret Nagle spent years honing her above-average script for this interesting fact-based film.More remarkable are the performances of some of the Sudanese cast members (including the juniors), whose own life experiences reflect the difficulty of survival, against deadly odds in this war-torn nation. These performances are sincere reflections of their own extremely difficult journeys to attempt resettlement in the USA. Some will make it, many wont. On arrival in America they're greeted with yet another traumatic experience - how to integrate into a culture that's peopled by those who have little knowledge of your past horrific living conditions and where 'plenty' has become a rarely appreciated element of daily life. Culture shock in the extreme!. Some maybe too cynical to accept certain situations within this productions artificial interpretation of reality, but the writers have clearly attempted to uphold enough integrity to allow most viewers a genuine understanding of what those less fortunate have to endure.British born Ugandan actor Arnold Oceng shows how essential good casting is for bringing life and commitment to a production of this stature. As mentioned, the Sudanese performers are superb. Ger Duany as Jeremiah, brings personal emotional power to his character, as does Emmanuel Jal. Both these men are ex-boy soldiers with many ugly real life memories between them. Kuoth Wiel as the sister who is separated from her only remaining family, imparts genuine warmth to her role. Canadian director and winner of various awards Philippe Falardeau guides his sterling cast with knowing skill and just when you feel he's slipping into the realm of cliché, manages to come back on track. Fellow Canadian Director of Photography Ronald Plante, turns in his usual award nominated visual power - even his hand held shots have a smooth quality that never detract from the above average storytelling - while Composer Martin Leon adds nicely to the poetic feel of this harrowing, gentle, and at times humorous experience. It's also good to see talented Reese Witherspoon putting her name to a relatively background role in this uncommon work. This movie's recommended to those tired of the sometimes jaded run-of-the-mill commercial movie fare. No over-the-top Academy Award fanfares here, this one stands on its own simple strength.

The film is in 3 parts. The first part follows the Sudanese children who have lost everything and are seeking safety.The second part is a gentle but well-observed satire, marking the absolutely typical inhumanity and su-bnormality of many Americans who have never even left the state they were born in, their utter lack of any understanding of another culture, much less how strange everything is for these refugees from a very different world. Culture shock is completely ignored.A tiny example is the jello presented to the 3 brothers on their arrival at their final destination in weird and alien Kansas. (Yes, that is how it seems to the rest of the world! The world outside Northern America, which barely exists so far as most Americans are concerned!) The well-meaning volunteer intends it as a welcome token but the brothers don't even recognise it as food! (And of course part of the satire is that it isn't.)The last third is partly a redemption of some Americans who find ways around the legal craziness that has swamped the US, which denies it has any involvement itself in terrorism, except as victim. It is also partly about love and sacrifice.A bittersweet and at the same time a heartwarming gem of a film.

Review: I really enjoyed this intense drama and you can't help feeling emotional about the brothers emotional story. The many horrible death-defying situations that they found themselves in, did bring a tear to my eye and the fact that it was based on real characters made it even more emotional. Anyway, the film is about 3 brothers and there sister who end up in a refugee camp after walking for miles to escape the enemy during the Sudanese Civil War. After spending years in the camp, they finally get the opportunity to go to Kansas City so while America is excepting refugees so they jump on a plane to freedom. At the airport they find out that the women have to live with a family so they are split up from there sister and they end up living in a small flat together. There counsellor (Reese Witherspoon) struggles to find them jobs because of there lack of qualifications but she has faith in there work methods so she uses all of her resources to get them work. They then battle against the laws of the land to reunite with there sister and they find out that there brother is still alive in Sudan so they try and look for loopholes in the law to bring gin to America.  After seeking help for his brother and failing at every hurdle, one of the brothers takes on the task to go and get him from Sudan but it comes at a high price. Its such a touching story which is put together well by the director. The footage of the families journey to Ethiopia was amazing and authentic and I really can't imagine how difficult that period must have been. The fact that they didn't know anything about modern technology, like phones and simple things like Macdonalds, really did bring there situation to light  and the attention to detail from the director was brilliant. Anyway, I really enjoyed this emotional drama and the acting from the cast was superb. Enjoyable!Round-Up: Although this movie made a massive lose at the box office, which it didn't deserve, I haven't heard a bad word said about it. You might recognise Mamere (Arnold Oceng) from films like Adulthood, Top Boy, Grange Hill and Casualty, so he's quite new to the Hollywood big screen. Jeremiah (Ger Duany) has made appearances in I Heart Huckabees, which I really enjoyed, the Fighter with Mark Wahlberg, Restless City and Isn't It Delicious so he has a little experience, which you can see in his performance. Reese Witherspoon, 39, really came to light after her role in Legally Blonde in 2001 and her performance in Sweet Home Alabama in 2002 but she really hit the big time in 2005 with her Oscar winning performance in Walk The Line. Since then she has made some mediocre movies like Mud, This Means War, Water For Elephants, Devil's Knot and Wild but she hasn't hit the stardom that she reached in 2005. This film was directed by Phillipe Falardeau who is pretty new to the Hollywood big screen, which is why the movie didn't get the big distribution treatment that it deserved. He really did put this emotional, true drama, together well but it's a shame that it didn't reach more cinemas. Its not very often that a film brings a tear to my eye so I have to give this movie the thumbs up.Budget: $20million Worldwide Gross: $3.2millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their emotional dramas about a family who have gone through hell during the Sudanese Civil War and leave there refugee camp to seek for opportunities in America. 7/10

The African continent has seen more than it's fair share of violent power struggles across all it's regions, a sad yet impending reality, particularly in today's age. These skirmishes have existed for so long now that they have either made us oblivious to them or altered our perception of reality altogether, both being undesirable outcomes. Add to it the general ignorance that the world carries about Africa as a whole and you're headed to a point of no return. I've lived in Africa for a little over 6 years and traveled through a good part of it during the time. Having met folks from every region of the continent and having experienced many of their cultures first hand, I thought I knew the reality of things, but I was mistaken.You see, living in the largely peaceful and progressive Southern region, I believed that........http://atypicaljournal.com/culture/if-this-film- on-Africa-doesn't-move-you-nothing-ever-will/