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Lost Boys of Sudan (2004)
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Reviews Counted:45
Fresh:43
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: The Lost boys of Sudan works as both a riveting documentary and scathing indictment of colonialism.
Runtime: 87 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Synopsis: LOST BOYS OF SUDAN, directed by San Francisco-based documentary filmmakers Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk, observes the experiences and impressions of two boys from Sudan who were brought to the United... LOST BOYS OF SUDAN, directed by San Francisco-based documentary filmmakers Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk, observes the experiences and impressions of two boys from Sudan who were brought to the United States as part of a resettlement program that took place in 2001. Thousands of people were allowed to immigrate to the United States to escape from the civil war that had plagued Sudan for 20 years, driving many of that country's residents to refugee camps. Peter Dut and Santino Chuor met Mylan and Shank in a refugee camp in Kakuma Kenya, which is where they agreed to make LOST BOYS. The film tracks their passage to the United States, where they settle into lives and jobs in Houston, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri. It is through their eyes that the film communicates both an idea of what Sudan is like in their memories of home, the differences between the lives they led in Africa and their new lives in the United States, and the simple homesickness and frustration that comes with being transplanted to a totally foreign country. In the end, what comes through is their determination to succeed, adapt, and build a strong foundation in their new country, while never forgetting the people they left behind. [More]
Director: Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk
Director: Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk
Producer: Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk
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Reviews for Lost Boys of Sudan
A documentary about two refugees who come to the United States, it offers a detailed look at the hurdles they face but makes no attempt to analyze, explain or advocate changes that would help them.
Lacking that exotic 'foreign' focus and by failing to address the hardships of their early lives, we're left with a routine film about teenagers making mistakes or growing up too fast.
It is remarkable how Mylan and Shenk, without voiceovers or other narrative crutches, so flawlessly capture the American experience -- through the eyes of two Sudanese men.
Reveals with remarkable clarity the clash of dreams vs. reality, hope vs. day-to-day despair.
It's fascinating to watch these two young men start down the same path and end up in such totally different circumstances... also to see our country from their point of view.
The people who made Lost Boys of Sudan have a compelling story to tell, but they haven't quite put their fingers on it.
In Lost Boys of Sudan, we don't just hear about the steps of assimilation; we see them, and we feel their cumulative effect.
A potent, engrossing look at several young refugees from Sudan's disastrous, endless civil war who've been relocated to the U.S.
This tidy and fascinating documentary follows the plight of two young African refugees transplanted to the U.S. to make a better life.
It's not as illuminating as it could be, but it sheds light just the same.
The filmmakers deftly capture the boys' depression and triumphs, but something of the American character -- the generosity and the arrogance -- as well.
The fact that it's an old story doesn't mean that this new telling of it doesn't, in its rather simple and unaffected way, carry considerable impact.
Lost Boys of Sudan is an excellent documentary about the struggles of two African youth to adapt to their new life in America.
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