This HBO-aired documentary tells the moving and inspiring story of how a Swedish woman's act of charitable generosity toward a young student in Kenya had a far greater effect than she anticipated: today, the once-impoverished child she sponsored, Chris Mburu, is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a human rights lawyer for the United Nations. Mburu credits his long-ago benefactor, Holocaust refugee Hilde Back, with changing his life, and out of gratitude he establishes an education fund for his village in Back's name. Filmmaker Jennifer Arnold develops this thematically rich, wide-ranging narrative by shifting gracefully from Back and Mburu to the Kenyan schoolchildren who talk about their hopes and harbor understandable anxiety about excelling on exams that could earn them Hilde Back Foundation scholarships—and reshape their futures. Meanwhile, a contested Kenyan presidential election suddenly threatens to explode into civil war with overtones of tribal genocide. The conflict provides a context for emphasizing the value of a proper education—and of the benevolence of people like Back—as a defense against the ignorance that contributes to violence and intolerance. The cumulative impact is very powerful (with scenes of the Kenyan youth awaiting their test results approaching the suspense levels of Spellbound). Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)
A Small Act
(2010) 88 min. DVD: $95: high schools & public libraries; $295: colleges & universities. Ro*co Film Educational. PPR. Volume 26, Issue 1
A Small Act
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