As We Forgive

As We Forgive poses a chilling question: namely, how would you feel if authorities let murderers who had killed your family return to your neighborhood? Over a period of 100 days in 1994, Hutus in Rwanda slaughtered nearly one million of their Tutsi fellow countrymen. More than 50,000 genocidal inmates have been released from overcrowded prisons in the last several years, often returning to the communities where they took part in the bloody rampage. Narrated by Mia Farrow, director Laura Waters Hinson's As We Forgive offers a recap of the developments that created the chasm between the groups, but mainly she looks at how two women, Rosaria and Chantale, have been coping in the aftermath of the crisis. The former lost her husband and four children; the latter, most of her family, although her only son survived. But the filmmaker also speaks with Saveri, who killed Rosaria's sister and her children; and John, who killed Chantale's father. Fourteen years after the war, a counselor brings these four individuals together, allowing viewers to witness the pain and power of reconciliation. Rounding out this hard-hitting film are interviews with orphans, politicians (including Rwandan President Paul Kagame), representatives from the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, and religious leaders who've encouraged the murderers to confess to their crimes and ask for forgiveness from their victims. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)