By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Jonas D’Adesky
Starring: Jean Mary Pierre | Jules Vitaleme | Sima Mickelson
Original language title: Twa Timoun
Country: belgium, haiti
Year: 2013
Running time: 81
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2205002/combined
Bruce says: “About six months after the 2010 Haitian earthquake, Jonas D’Adesky’s girlfriend Ines decided she wanted to leave Belgium and travel to Haiti to volunteer her services. D’Adesky decided to accompany her and they stayed for six months. Three months into their stay, D’Adesky decided to make a film. With a crew of three he completed the film in three months. The crew interviewed many children to play the three friends. In the end they found three kids – twelve year olds who already were, in fact, friends – in a boarding school: Jules Vitaleme, Sima Mickelson and Jean Mary Pierre. What emerged is a docudrama of sorts. These are real kids facing real issues with a script supplied by a filmmaker.
“The film begins with an innocent game of tossing stones. The camera follows the kids through their daily routines. Then the earthquake occurs. Haiti is mayhem. The three kids wander from place to place looking for food and a place to sleep. They find a building that is still partially standing and drag old mattresses and newspapers in to lie on. The boys resort to stealing and trickery in order to get money for food and to stay together. Disaster has tightened their bonds. When Sima and Jean Mary go for a ride on a borrowed motorcycle, they crash into a fancy automobile. After the police become involved the two boys are turned over to social services. The interviews with their social worker are interspersed with the sequential narrative. Vitaleme
frantically searches for his two friends; they meanwhile are looking for him as well. In the face of horrible disaster, friendship is the priority.
“What is wonderful about the film is the reality of Haiti and the hopefulness of the children in spite of the many obstacles they must face. One has a sister who has died of AIDS; another was indentured before he was sent off to boarding school. The boys also become involved with two girls from a convent school. The girls, obviously traumatized as well, nonetheless express dreams of the average pre-teen.
“THREE KIDS has a very loose narrative. That is both a blessing and curse. The flavor of Haiti’s desperate hours is vividly brought to screen through the eyes of the children. But the lack of plot and narrative line lessens the impact of the film in one’s memory. This is an impressive first film, especially considering the conditions under which it was made. 3.5 cats
“(THREE KIDS screened at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival.)”