Bruce says: “The 57 countries of Africa are largely
the creation of colonists, Europeans who carved up the continent as they
licked their chops over their newfound treasures. Most countries consist
of many peoples from many cultures. The people of Africa speak over 2,000
languages. Culture and language spill over borders making the possibility
of cultural realignment a remote dream.
“Only four countries of the 57 – Somalia, Botswana, Rwanda
and Burundi – have homogenous cultures and share a common language. However,
sameness
is not enough to keep a country from being torn asunder. In Rwanda two
ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, have fought a bloody civil war
that has taken immense toll. Hundreds of thousands have been killed;
the infrastructure of the country has been destroyed; most of the people
have lost hope.
“Rwanda is the model for the fictitious country in THE NIGHT OF TRUTH.
Director Fanta Régina Nacro claims that images of the war in Yugoslavia,
the civil war in Sierra Leone, and the brutal death of her own uncle
were great influences for making this film. She makes powerful statements
about the quest for power, the insidious craving for war, and the futility
of life for those caught in the middle.
“The film opens with the wife of the President making a pilgrimage to
her son’s grave. Even a man as powerful as the President could
not protect his own son during the civil war between the Nayak and the
Bonande. Colonel Theo has invited the President and his entourage of
military guards to his compound to make peace between the warring factions.
“The tension of the film is derived from what might happen when the
two factions meet to make their peace. The Colonel’s wife does not
want armed men in her village where donkey carts sleepily ease their
way past walls decorated with graffiti of army tanks, wall that are a
constant reminder of war. She knows too well that the men that make peace
also make war. To these men war is a game and war is useful. Not surprising,
the only women attending the peacemaking meeting are the wives of the
two leaders. Once the meeting is underway, the initial hours are focused
on a large banquet where delicacies such as snake, crickets and caterpillars
are devoured. Edna bides her time until the revenge that she has craftily
plotted is executed. War may be a man’s game but women, given the
chance, are often complicitous. The film’s conclusion is horrific
and shocking.
“Several of the leads are prominent actors but most of the characters
are played by non-professionals. The Colonel is one of them and he is
brilliant. The men in the military seem real. That is no coincidence;
they are recruits from the Burkina Faso military. One unfortunate choice
in the script is having a village half wit move the plot along. In countries
riddled by civil war, there are enough idiots, none of them simple-minded,
to play that role. On second thought, maybe that’s the point. 5 cats”
THE NIGHT OF TRUTH was shown as part of the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival.
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