The aftermath of Rwanda's internecine genocide saw the flowering of community courts called “Gacaca” (or “justice on the grass”), designed to bring both punishment to the guilty and reconciliation to a brutalized nation. J. Coll Metcalfe's documentary In the Tall Grass follows the experience of Joanita Mukarusanga, who accused her neighbor of killing her husband and abducting her four children during the civil war. Since the bodies of the children were never recovered (they may have been buried alive after being kidnapped), Joanita's sole hope of recovering their remains for a proper funeral rests in the Gacaca system. However, her expectations of judicial redress are not high, and in a sense her emotions mirror the Rwandan mindset of trying to piece together a country that may have been irreparably broken. If the Gacaca cannot function as an omnipotent court in the Western sense of jurisprudence, at least it provides a forum for victims to confront their attackers without fear of retribution; indeed, the film's power comes from Joanita's direct charge against her neighbor, who claims only to have been a witness to the murders and to have no knowledge of what became of Joanita's missing children. DVD extras (including a director's statement, guidebook, and background on the Gacaca) offer more insight into this Rwandan approach to reconciliation. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
In the Tall Grass
(2006) 57 min. DVD: $99.95. Choices, Inc. PPR. ISBN: 1-933724-08-0. Volume 22, Issue 1
In the Tall Grass
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