AFI Fest
Adapted from the Etienne Goyemide novel "Le Silence de la foret", "The Forest" is an intriguing film about a headstrong school inspector in Gabon determined to enlighten his country's oppressed Pygmy population through education, only to be schooled himself in the ways of the world.
A solid entry in AFI Fest's international feature competition, this revealing Central African Republic/Cameroon/Gabon co-production effectively immerses the viewer in an exotic culture within an exotic culture while making quiet observations about the far-reaching effects of modern globalization.
Charismatic Eriq Ebouaney -- best known from "Lumumba" -- brings the right mix of righteousness and humility to the role of Gonaba, a restless intellectual whose disillusionment with his country's hypocritical politics takes him deep into Gabon's dense jungles, where he's convinced he can liberate the persecuted Babingas Pygmies by teaching them how to read and write.
As it turns out, not only are his subjects resistant to his plans, but they feel it is the Tall Man who's in serious need of an education.
Layering their nicely paced film with gentle ironies, co-directors Didier Ouenangare and Bassek Ba Kobhio establish an authenticity with the help of that fascinating Pygmy cast, the majority of whom had never even seen a camera, let alone appeared in front of one.
Adapted from the Etienne Goyemide novel "Le Silence de la foret", "The Forest" is an intriguing film about a headstrong school inspector in Gabon determined to enlighten his country's oppressed Pygmy population through education, only to be schooled himself in the ways of the world.
A solid entry in AFI Fest's international feature competition, this revealing Central African Republic/Cameroon/Gabon co-production effectively immerses the viewer in an exotic culture within an exotic culture while making quiet observations about the far-reaching effects of modern globalization.
Charismatic Eriq Ebouaney -- best known from "Lumumba" -- brings the right mix of righteousness and humility to the role of Gonaba, a restless intellectual whose disillusionment with his country's hypocritical politics takes him deep into Gabon's dense jungles, where he's convinced he can liberate the persecuted Babingas Pygmies by teaching them how to read and write.
As it turns out, not only are his subjects resistant to his plans, but they feel it is the Tall Man who's in serious need of an education.
Layering their nicely paced film with gentle ironies, co-directors Didier Ouenangare and Bassek Ba Kobhio establish an authenticity with the help of that fascinating Pygmy cast, the majority of whom had never even seen a camera, let alone appeared in front of one.
AFI Fest
Adapted from the Etienne Goyemide novel "Le Silence de la foret", "The Forest" is an intriguing film about a headstrong school inspector in Gabon determined to enlighten his country's oppressed Pygmy population through education, only to be schooled himself in the ways of the world.
A solid entry in AFI Fest's international feature competition, this revealing Central African Republic/Cameroon/Gabon co-production effectively immerses the viewer in an exotic culture within an exotic culture while making quiet observations about the far-reaching effects of modern globalization.
Charismatic Eriq Ebouaney -- best known from "Lumumba" -- brings the right mix of righteousness and humility to the role of Gonaba, a restless intellectual whose disillusionment with his country's hypocritical politics takes him deep into Gabon's dense jungles, where he's convinced he can liberate the persecuted Babingas Pygmies by teaching them how to read and write.
As it turns out, not only are his subjects resistant to his plans, but they feel it is the Tall Man who's in serious need of an education.
Layering their nicely paced film with gentle ironies, co-directors Didier Ouenangare and Bassek Ba Kobhio establish an authenticity with the help of that fascinating Pygmy cast, the majority of whom had never even seen a camera, let alone appeared in front of one.
Adapted from the Etienne Goyemide novel "Le Silence de la foret", "The Forest" is an intriguing film about a headstrong school inspector in Gabon determined to enlighten his country's oppressed Pygmy population through education, only to be schooled himself in the ways of the world.
A solid entry in AFI Fest's international feature competition, this revealing Central African Republic/Cameroon/Gabon co-production effectively immerses the viewer in an exotic culture within an exotic culture while making quiet observations about the far-reaching effects of modern globalization.
Charismatic Eriq Ebouaney -- best known from "Lumumba" -- brings the right mix of righteousness and humility to the role of Gonaba, a restless intellectual whose disillusionment with his country's hypocritical politics takes him deep into Gabon's dense jungles, where he's convinced he can liberate the persecuted Babingas Pygmies by teaching them how to read and write.
As it turns out, not only are his subjects resistant to his plans, but they feel it is the Tall Man who's in serious need of an education.
Layering their nicely paced film with gentle ironies, co-directors Didier Ouenangare and Bassek Ba Kobhio establish an authenticity with the help of that fascinating Pygmy cast, the majority of whom had never even seen a camera, let alone appeared in front of one.
- 11/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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