Abouna (Our Father)

A small, sensitive, and haunting drama, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's Abouna takes place in a dusty village in Chad, next to the border of Cameroon, where two young brothers awaken one morning to discover that their father has disappeared. Their ensuing search for their missing dad seems fruitless, until one afternoon at a local theater, when the boys (incredibly) believe they see their father on the screen. The following day, the brothers sneak into the theater, steal a reel from the projection booth and take it home, searching for their father's image in the frames. Caught by the police, the boys are spared punishment only when their mother intervenes to send them away to a harsh Islamic school in a far village. The beauty of Abouna is rooted in its deep understanding of the human condition: unlike children in Hollywood films, the brothers are very much real-life boys in how they act (equal parts bravado, vulnerability, and naive faith) and how they behave (walking across an open field, the youngsters abruptly move into handstands and continue their stroll with their feet in the air). Backed by a simple but effective acoustic guitar score, the film unfolds at a leisurely pace, catching the viewer completely off-guard with its devastating power in the final reels. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: DVD extras include an interview with director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (23 min.), two short films by Haroun (“Goi Goi” and “B 400”), liner notes, and a trailer. Bottom line: a nice extras package for a fine foreign film.] (P. Hall)