Le Grande Blanc de Lambarene

Cameroonian filmmaker Bassek ba Kobhio explores the life of Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer who built a hospital in uncolonized Africa. In a small village, Schweitzer became known as the "Great White Man" for his knowledge of medicine. Yet the film paints Schweitzer not as a hero but as a complex human whose kindness and arrogance are entwined with his close-minded view of the "primitives." Gloriously shot at the original location, Le Grande Blanc de Lambarene magnificently depicts a nation torn by change and the familiar battles brought on by two clashing cultures. Recommended. (L. Russo)