First shown in theaters in 2015, this newly released DVD edition tells the story of a young boy Adama, who leaves his West African homeland to find his brother Samba fighting in World War I. Adama encounters many adventures and hardships while searching for his brother, and both brothers learn a life lesson in the end. The animated feature begins with Samba and Adama having fun swimming in a lake near farmland surrounded by high cliffs. A beautiful waterfall descends the cliff wall, and, while the young boys enjoy diving into the water, the adults work on the farms. Houses lay on the edge of the farmland and extend up into the cliffs. The older brother Samba is about to be initiated in a ceremony that will declare him to be an adult with the new responsibilities of farm work. Samba does not want to practice farming and secretly joins the warriors of the Nassarasa who give him gold pieces and promise more money if he agrees to fight and win. Samba does not realize he is actually being sent to the front at Verdun to fight in World War I. Vowing to bring his brother back home, Adama leaves the idyllic village and passes the masked spirit figure Abdu before he enters a narrow tunnel and climbs the cliff wall. At the top, Adama encounters a cracked dry desert and fierce winds; he follows the direction of the seagull flying overhead and reaches an ocean where he sneaks aboard a troopship being loaded with recruits and supplies. Adama meets a beggar playing the flute who tells him he is young and impatient and should not follow the bird; actually, the beggar is the spiritual leader Abdu. Adama discovers his brother is ahead of him on another ship and jumps aboard the General Mancin as a stowaway. When the ship lands in France, Adama sees his brother getting on a lorry heading north to Paris. Adama makes new friends and persuades them to help him to get to Paris where he boards a train for Verdun. At the front Adama learns Samba’s battalion was overtaken; amidst the chaos and with planes shooting at him, Adama rushes ahead to find his brother. In the trenches, he finds Samba and a few soldiers trying to hold off the enemy. Just as help arrives from French troops, Adama experiences the horribleness of gas. Together Samba and Adama leave the battlefield, and, with the help of the beggar, travel safely through the earth and arrive at the entrance to their homeland guarded by Abdu. Adama realizes the beggar is really the masked spirit figure Abdu and gives him a hug of gratitude. With stunning artwork, strong characterization, and lots of action sequences, this coming-of-age story exposes the naivete of young men going off to war. Recommended. (T. Root)