WiseRatFlames An unexpected masterpiece

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

jcappy ABC Africa, which is simply Kiarostami's response to a plea for exposure and "international attention" by a Uganda's women organization to the plight of 2 million AIDS (and war) orphans, may be viewed as a reflective journal piece, a painterly poem, and a political support project all in one.Certainly, Kiarostami's approach is low-key, and understandably limited by an outsider's perspective. He must apprise all through a sensitivity to cultural differences--and privileges. So his work relies on an egalitarianism in the sense that it flows out of a plurality of centers that Kiarostami and his cameras gravitate to. Thus, detachment is minimized both by the use of hand-held digital and still cameras, and by the participation of all--crew and "cast"--in the goings on of film. And the integration of sound, song, dance, color, and voice, are made convincingly real. This is an intuitive, and congenial documentation, but never gives any indication of being a puff piece. If Kiarostami doesn't delve too deeply into the more disturbing side of the realty he depicts, it may well be that he's acknowledging his guest status--and perhaps, understandably, his lack of knowledge.In any case, the results are impressive--lyrical, screen-filled images insist on the beauty and reality of the unseen. Kiarostami is the poet-painter who fills his surfaces with both filmic and still portraits of orphans, women and taxi drivers. Heads, faces, clapping hands, and skin are joined to movement, gestures, and intonations which constitute an open social world--one in which Kiarostami himself joins by gesture, and voice as he bobs his camera in the midst of the long, colorful boys-chant scene. Almost everyone gets to have fun with his cameras and some resistant ones quickly break into bold smiles. But the lyricism is tempered by the AIDS center scenes, and by an invariably non-romanticized approach which never spares us the dire physical and social contexts of these phoenix-like women and children.Yes, Kiarostami does make a political statement in "ABC Africa"--he simply makes visible the lives of the Ugandan orphans and the courageous, hard-working women who have committed to saving their lives. "Imagine that grandmother living with 35 kids..." "half of their life in the dark" (no electricity) says one of the crew in the black out scene. "Humans can adapt to anything..." another says, and what is more human than the human-ness of these people, is the film's point. A 10 year commitment to each child's independence and empowerment--clothing, educating, providing safety for, feeding, economizing, is a collective endeavor worth shouting from the rooftops.But Kiarostami makes a number of subtle points as regards the cultural/political blocks this army of volunteers must counter in order to survive. A means Abstincenc, B means Be faithful and C means Condom with "C" being a last resort only. The Pope's image is evident all around and US aid is behind him-- a poster of Bob Marley can hardly compete with that. Then there is the government which is a part of the process and names a lot of the rules by which the work proceeds and is financed. On the countering side you have a strong woman's world view--the few men who appear blend in with the women and children-- which is like the African sun referred to by the crew in the black-out scene."ABC Africa's" truly remarkable ending has cumulus clouds transforming into the full faces of the dead and the living down below the clouds. As the adopted Ugandan girl is flown to her new home in Austria, some kind of visibility and solidarity has been achieved for those on and under the dispossessed terrain below.

Howard Schumann Asked by the UN International Fund for Economic Development (IFAD) to make a film documenting the plight of millions of Ugandan orphans ravaged by the recent civil war and the scourge of AIDS, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami responded with something much more, a personal and poetic film that allows us to see the people, the land, and the culture of Uganda without relentless images of despair. The documentary, ABC Africa, captures a kaleidoscope of faces of children and adults that display an enthusiasm for life that belies the grim statistics. The children of Kampala may be without parents but they are still children, ready to burst into wondrous song or dance, or simply mug for the camera when given the opportunity.ABC Africa illuminates the work of the Uganda Women's Effort to Save orphans (UWESCO), an organization of women willing to adopt these children even though they may have many other mouths to feed. There is no voice-over narration in the film, only interviews with Ugandan relief workers who describe the extent of the problems they face. In trademark Kiarostami fashion, as a car drives through the streets of Kampala and the countryside, the digital hand-held camera records the passing scene, revealing both the beauty and the ugliness of Ugandan life. In one extraordinary sequence, we share the grief as the camera pans into a hospital for children dying of AIDS and follows a dead child being wrapped in a blanket and put into a makeshift cardboard box, then wheeled away on a bicycle to an unknown burial ground.Equally memorable is a five-minute segment shot in total darkness inside a hotel where the power has failed due to regular midnight power cuts. All we hear is the conversation of two men in Farsi as they struggle to find their hotel room, a hint of the fear that Ugandans face each night and a metaphor for the darkness in which millions of Africans live. The film also shows the well-meaning but questionable efforts of a young Austrian family to adopt an orphaned girl found on the streets and bring her to Austria. Though some might have wanted ABC Africa to address the social, economic, and political causes that have left 1.6 million children without parents, Kiarostami's camera is simply present to each given moment and the result is a revelation.

LeRoyMarko The director's aim is honest. But the movie fails to deliver on a few fronts. It stays too much on the surface, even though there is some very emotional scenes. Through all the adversity, there's also a sense that life is worth living. Filmed with a hand-held camera. Some images could have been filmed by a tourist. In fact, one could argue that Kiarostami's view of Africa is only seen through the eye of a tourist and that the film only promotes voyeurism. But still, the documentary makes us reflect on the huge problems facing Uganda, but also all of Africa today.Seen at home, in Toronto, on February 5th, 2005.72/100 (**)

lowolf Moving awkardly and intrusively through Ugandan villages, in a stated attempt to document the work of an Aids orphanage and the crisis of Aids in Uganda, Kiarostami offers us contrived glimpses of a so called "reality." He fails to tell any particular story of poverty, Aids, NGOs, or orphaned children. Instead, he indulges in voyeurism and paternalism, revealing the great distance between the struggles and daily realities of Ugandan villages and the touristic comforts of Western filmmakers staying at the Kampala hotel.Originally intended as scoping work for a subsequent project, ABC Africa might have been a more in-depth and thought-provokig piece of work had he used this footage as preliminary work. It can not stand on its own as a piece of in-depth documentation as it does nothing more than provide images intended to shock Western audiences about poverty in Africa. Long, unedited shots of kids playing in front of the camera show the intrusion of Western filmmakers. Rushing to capture "good footage" of a young boy pushing a girl child carrying heavy wood or of the orphanage staff preparing the body of a child who recently died compromises the integrity of his work and reveals the cursory nature of the footage and of his experience in Uganda.While a certain spirit of village life in Africa is conveyed, it's authenticity is sacrificed by Kiarostami's inability to engage his "actors" as individuals with stories to share. Despite his articulated goal to provide images for people to construct their own meaning and build personal "movies" in their mind, Kirostami's casual style objectifies the experiences that he tries to depict authentically.