Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 21
Fresh: 20 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 866
In a Kigali, Rwanda marketplace, local adolescent boy Munyurangabo and his friend, Sangwa, swipe a machete from a vendor and hit the road together. Each young man is haunted by the ghosts of past experiences. Munyurangabo lost both parents to the Rwandan genocide and now embarks on a quest for swift justice; Sangwa left home years prior and longs to return. So begins director Lee Isaac Chung's feature Liberation Day. The two young men at the heart of the story commence a journey to Sangwa's
Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.
May 29, 2009 Limited
Oct 6, 2009
Film Movement
All Critics (21) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (1) | DVD (3)
Munyurangabo may be a simple film with a straightforward message, but the details and conflicts Chung captures give it a reality that cannot be denied.
It is in every frame a beautiful and powerful film -- a masterpiece.
Munyurangabo, a simple, naturalistic parable about a journey to the countryside by two young men, reflects on the chances of peace and reconciliation for survivors of Rwanda's bloody recent past.
It's raw and rough, but beautifully photographed and classically constructed, with an undercurrent of awful tension and a lyrical sensibility.
Munyurangabo uses the fine-grained techniques of cinematic neorealism to illuminate the psychological and emotional landscape of a still-traumatized place.
Without proselytizing, what's left in this machetes-to-ploughshares tale is, unexpectedly, a powerfully Christian film.
Chung's film feels 'organic.' ... Rather than giving Western viewers a guilt trip by exploiting Rwanda's pain, he makes a movie by Rwanda for Rwanda.
Munyurangabo lies somewhere between cinema verité and fable
Compared to "Munyurangabo," admirable films like Terry George's "Hotel Rwanda" or Michael Caton-Jones' "Shooting Dogs" seem like so much heavy-handed melodrama.
If you can get past the mercurial changes in emotions and the slow pace you'll find a film that has a lot to say about war and peace, hatred and love, revenge and reconciliation
Poignant and authentically moving film.
ou wouldn't think a movie with so many cultural elements to draw on would have to steal from Disney.
It's the latest in a long and worthy line of low-budget, partly improvised neorealist movies that mix fiction with documentarylike qualities.
A compelling, provocative and well-nuanced drama that's also refreshingly unpretentious and quietly engrossing.
In order to survive, one can't hold onto innocence nor wash away the bloody, tattooed existence of the past. And even with this grim reality, there is some semblance of promise. Not everything corrupt stays that way.
intelligent enough to understand where history and blood are built into Rwanda but realistic enough to know that forgiveness is a long way off.
Chekhov's principle of drama is in full effect, but what's remarkable about this film is how it slowly steers its way from portent to poetry.
In "Munyurangabo," Ngabo(Jeff Rutagengwa) is mad at his friend Sangwa(Eric Ndorunkundiye) for spending their bus money, forcing them to hitchhike instead from Kigali. It turns out the money was for a dress shirt to impress his parents who he has not seen in three years. His mother(Narcicia Nyirabucyeye) is very
August 20, 2010Super Reviewer
A simple and beautiful film. The production is a bit crude, but the plot is so rich it doesn?t really matter. Well written, poignantly directed. Very well acted, believably told and striking images. Very memorable.
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