Dry Season

Dry Season is an interesting little pot-boiler of human emotion. It begins with a fair degree of hatred, before moulding into a film in which its lead must attain a certain respect. It then moulds further still into a tale of specific fondness two people have for one another, before concluding with a moral set piece complete with questions raising issues to do with honour, both to those you've known your whole life and to those you've come to know and respect in the short term. The development of the agents involved in Dry Season is fascinating and the power play going on between them carries a distinct sense of menace as we await the explosion of raw, human emotion as the act of revenge is carried out.

But Dry Season is all about getting to that obligatory scene, the scene that completes the lead's goal; it's all about what happens prior to that event and the chance to engage in that event. As it happens, the film has its own clever little spin on that notion with a finale that is quite magnificent. The film begins in a small town in Chad, in which Atim (Barkai) and his grandfather overhear an announcement on the radio declaring the lack of action that will be taken against Civil War-time war criminals. From here, the film creates an interesting juxtaposition between backdrop and emotional drive for its lead; a state of war that caused the whole country to clash has already ended; but a state of war, or distinct act of aggression, within the nation between two persons, or families, is about to begin again.

During the Civil War, Atim's father was killed by a man named Nassara (Djaoro); an individual living close by in a larger town than the one Atim currently inhabits. Armed, rather ritualistically, with his father's old gun; Atim travels to this place to kill Nassarsa. Initially, Dry Season is a genre piece. It's use, and slight spin, on the revenge arc as a drive for it's narrative is interesting as this young and lonely lead travels to a new and busier place to commit amoral acts on someone we have to presume is equally amoral. It represents a pushing of the film into a realm that makes it a lot more accessible than one might initially think. But, the film realises this, and rather than become a hard-boiled and cause and effect driven piece that sees the lead rampage his way through the new town in search for his ultimate goal, it places him with the antagonistic force of the piece early on, seeing them spend time together for the rest of the film's duration.

When Atim first meets Nassara, one knows whom the other is but the other does not fit into the same scenario. It turns out Nassara is a holy man and a frequenter of a mosque. He is a man who runs a bakery and hands out bread to the children each morning in many-a notion of goodwill. He will, as will his pregnant wife, soon be a parent and whilst Atim is there purely to offer death by way of pistol, Nassara can only offer life in return by way of pieces of bread. For Atim, Nassara develops into a fatherly figure; a figure Atim never had because of said man. For Nassara, Atim becomes somewhat of a son-like figure; someone he can pass on his learnings to, employ in the bakery and generally keep in contact with by way of close proximity.

As the two spend more and more time with each other, we begin to question Atim's drive. He is this close to his goal, but he holds back. Then we realise his father was killed before he was born, and that maybe the fact that specific personal connection between father and son was never there in the first place, it will blind Atim somewhat when it comes to carrying out an act of revenge on behalf of someone Atim, essentially, never even met. We begin to wonder if Atim subscribes to the belief retribution should be carried out on general principal and we doubt if he is still willing to follow through in his mission, rendering the film far more unpredictable than we first thought after twenty or so minutes, when familiar narrative arcs and genre seemed to be the order of the day. Atim's varying emotions act as one of the more interesting elements to the film. I was genuinely unconvinced if Atim would sway either way in terms of actually killing Nassara, and additionally spent some of the time wondering what payoff, indeed what new order, would unravel if Nassara was to remain alive.

As the film enters its final third, there is a distinct shift in temperaments as these two characters shift away from their respective fatherly and son-like figures. The two seem to suddenly share a fair amount of homo-erotic scenes together, as they engage in long pauses with one another while, at other points, Nassara gazes back at Atim's sweaty body as he does his work. There is one instance in which Atim tries to apply something to the back of Nassara's head and they roll about a bit with one another on the ground before sharing a moment. The content aids in pushing the characters away from the relationship they already shared; and in one final act of might-be homo-eroticism, Atim invites Nassara back to where he initially lived so that he can be introduced to the rest of his family. But queer theory aside, Dry Season is a genuinely intriguing study of raw human emotion as opposing sides bond.

There are a handful of films from Africa that can leap out like a big cat from the celluloid jungle and make the viewer think.

A recent example is Daratt (Dry Season), a movie from Chad, a Central African country that was initially economically weakened by the French colonial rule and later, after gaining independence, slumped into a 40-year-old civil war. The neighboring Darfur crisis and the spillover of refugees have not ameliorated the political and economic situation of this landlocked country. Imagine living in a country that is dusty and hot with the Sahara desert to its north. Imagine living in a country where two generations of its population have not encountered peace or progress but live under the constant shadow of fear and corruption. If you can empathize with the unusually inhospitable situation, you will realize the title of the film is not merely a reflection of the hot, dusty climate, but a metaphor to describe life in Chad today.

This film is a powerful mix of metaphors and fables. The atmosphere captured in the film is real. People still get their news on the radio—not on TV or by reading newspapers. People still eat freshly baked sticks of French bread. People still carry guns that often can compare with the best anywhere in the world, quite in contrast to what else is available. The younger generation includes street-smart crooks and quiet, hardworking young men yearning for normal family bonds and affection that the civil war did not allow to grow. When the young man is asked by a baker what he wants, he answers laconically—"Not charity." Today, what Chad requires is not charity as well, but honest hard work that will build the nation.

What is unreal in the film? Corruption that eats into the soul of Chad is never glimpsed save for petty thieves selling fluorescent lights stolen from semi-dark streets in the night. What the viewer sees is a baker baking fresh bread and distributing it free to young hungry boys (the entire film suggests that young girls are an endangered species!). Now why would a person do this? Is the baker so rich that charity has become his vocation? It is possible that any scene of money changing hands for the baker's bread got lopped off on the editing floor because another baker is later shown providing aggressive competition. Terror is never shown on screen save for slippers left behind by crowds that apparently fled in terror.

What are the metaphors in the film? A "blind" grandfather seeks revenge after a radio broadcast proclaims amnesty for the perpetrators of the horrors. The blind man hands a gun to his grandson, now an orphan called Atim (metaphorically meaning an orphan) to avenge the death of his parents by killing a certain individual in a far away city. This perpetrator of crimes, now a symbol of reconciliation, hard work and progress has lost his "voice" and can only speak with artificial aids. Yet he is the one with a kind heart, wanting to adopt a hardworking son, and keeps his armory of weapons well hidden.

The "good" men who seek revenge are blind. The "bad" men who seek reconciliation, normalcy and family life can't speak (metaphorically). And both men are devout Muslims. That's Chad today!

The final outcome of the film is easily played out for the viewer because of these physical constraints of the two men. The outcome is easily played out as social mores are not tampered with—the grandfather's command is seemingly obeyed. The "father's" love for the "son" is acknowledged.

It would be too simplistic to draw parallels between Daratt and Argentine/Chilean Ariel Dorfman's play "Death and the maiden", later adapted for the screen by American novelist Rafael Yglesias for Polish director Roman Polanski. Yglesais' and Polanski's ambiguous final scene in their film of the same name, where principal players exchange loaded glances, is a delight.

In total contrast, "Daratt's" final scene is not of individuals but of the dry environment, as the camera zooms out. The viewer is nudged by the director to see the larger picture of the film, not the bare story line. What Polanski and Yglesias did in an American/European film, Mahamet-Saleh Haroun has equaled with ambiguity and force rarely seen in Africa cinema. Will the dry season accept a world of reconciliation that will lead to rain (a metaphoric wet season) and prosperity for future generations indoctrinated in love and traditional values? Perhaps, yes. Perhaps, not. .

"Moolade," "U–Carmen e Khayelitsha," and "In Casablanca, angels don't fly" are three examples of mature works of recent African cinema, with its distinct African aesthetics, that transect the length and breadth of the vast continent and capture the tragedy and aspirations of its people. I am pleased to add "Dry Season" to my list of formidable African cinema.

The Chadian film Daratt was shown in the U.S. with the title Dry Season (2006). It was written and directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun.

This powerful movie begins with what clearly is a bitter blow for people who have suffered during Chad's long civil war. All war criminals are amnestied. There is no justice for people who have suffered horribly.

The young protagonist, Atim (Ali Barkai) is given a pistol, and is told by his grandfather that now revenge is up to him. He must find and kill the man who killed Atim's father. Atim travels to the capital, N'Djamena. He finds the killer, Nassara (Youssouf Djaoro) and actually begins to work for him as a baker.

Atim has ample opportunity to kill Nassara. However, just as Hamlet hesitates, Atim hesitates. Nassara has reformed. He begins each day by giving bread to poor children. He has married a beautiful young wife, who is pregnant. (The wife, Aicha, is portrayed by Aziza Hisseine.) Naturally, Atim falls in love with her. Atim hesitates, and we all wait to see what will happen next.

As I wrote in my review of another film from Chad, Abouna, "This movie is worth seeing on its own merits. That fact that it's from Chad makes it even more important to view it. If I counted correctly, less than a dozen films have been made in Chad. The superb Dryden Theatre at The George Eastman Museum in Rochester is showing five of these movies as part of a Haroun retrospective. My compliments to the Dryden for giving us the opportunity to see these films on the large screen.

Some of Haroun's films are available for the small screen, but some are not. Also, even with the resources of the Eastman Museum, a print of "Bye Bye Africa" couldn't be located. (If you know someone who has a print of that movie, please notify the Dryden Theatre.)"

Daratt is a very powerful film, and I highly recommend it. It's unlikely that you'll be able to view it on the large screen, but it's available on DVD. Find it and see it.

perhaps the stereotypes of Americans being impatient with storytelling and in need of action is true. i found myself perpetually bored by this film. this in and of itself would not be such a bad thing, lots of film bore me. but this one actually has some decent storytelling to it. the problem comes from a lack of willingness to edit down the film, to move things along. too many shots of characters sitting around looking as if they are waiting to be filmed or photographed, glances caught at some distant nothing. mock modeling sessions for calvin klein ads. shots that consist of little more than a character walking across the frame. some tighter editing would have brought this same story in at around 45 to 50 minutes and would have lost nothing but fillers and time killers.

Like Koreeda's 'Hana', Haroun's 'Daratt' is another new filmed tale about delayed revenge, but a very different one. Atim (Ali Barkkai), whose father was murdered in the aftermath of Chad's civil war, goes out to avenge his father's killer after a general amnesty is declared. His plans change when in order to carry out his task he goes to work at the killer's bakery. While Koreeda's Soza is timid and doubtful and lives with a lot of other people, Atim is virtually alone and perpetually angry and seems ready to kill at any moment.

'Revenge is a dish best enjoyed cold' means it's not a crime of passion but of premeditation. Into that premeditation play not only a personal sense of wrong but often hereditary cultural rules governing loyalty to tribe, clan, family, or parent. It seems unlikely anyone would feel obligated to carry out an act of revenge (as both Soza and Atim do) without cultural input requiring it; and since traditional values are in a state of flux or devolution, the motivation may wane. This must explain the arcs of both 'Hana' and 'Daratt'. Soza of 'Hana' feels an obligation to his clan, which however his own nature rejects; he's a gentle soul who would rather teach calligraphy than practice his dubious swordsmanship skills -- which don't seem to translate well from the dojo to the street. Atim is directed by his ancient, blind grandfather to avenge his father's death. It seems almost a religious duty, and in some folk interpretations of Islam such obligations are given a religions sanction. In fact, though, when Atim arrives at the unidentified town where his "victim" lives and begins working for his father's killer, he refuses to go to the mosque with him, perhaps sensing that subjugation to the will of God might dampen his sense of purpose, or because he realizes his bloody mindedness ill fits a religion whose greeting is "peace be upon you."

'Daratt's' fable-like quality arises from its forceful simplicity. Each character has some iconic function. Atim's grandfather Gumar Abatcha (Khayar Oumar Defallah) acts as a relentless force of judgment. The soldier who is nasty to Atim on his trip (Abderamane Abakar) is a minor wrong-doer, who disrespects Atim, which also must be avenged. Upon arrival Atim's befriended by an amiable petty thief, Moussa (Djibril Ibrahim), who helps him get established in town, but whom he summarily abandons once he narrows in on his task. When we first see Nassara (Youssouf Djaoro), the man who killed Atim's father, it's obvious he is more important. He looks like a priest. He is a tall, thin man in a robe with a scarf around his neck and a distant, ascetic air -- off-putting, but not easy to despise on sight -- and he appears at a gate with a bag full of bread scraps that he distributes to poor boys who come to him with tin plates. This happens several times, and then Atim goes up to Nassara. Everything about Atim from first to last suggests inarticulate rage. One would say his performance was one-note were it not so strong and convincing. He takes the proffered hunk of bread, bites out of it, then spits it out. The man says if he wants work, to come back tomorrow. Nobody talks much in the film. In fact Nassara has had his throat slit during the war and has to hold a gadget up to his neck to be able to say anything.

The strength of the film comes from its tension and suspense, from the accumulating power of things left unexplained. It is never obvious, right up to the last scene, what Atim is going to do. When he stays with Nassara and is befriended uneasily by his young wife Aicha (Aziza Hiseine) and begins to work for him, it's not clear why. Is he biding his time to achieve maximum surprise? Or is he simply hesitating? Moreover while evidently Nassara is becoming fond of the young man, it's hard to say whether Atim is liking him more or feeding his hate. Certainly the situation is complicated by the fact that in some strange way Nassara has become a surrogate father figure for Atim (an outcome recalling events in the Dardennes brothers' 'The Son'), but also because, when Nassara's back is killing him and he lets Atim do all the baking, it delights Atim to accomplish this task with success. Nassara like Atim is silent and seems full of anger, further linking the two men, young and old, in an uneasy embrace. One of the most vivid ever portraits on film of prolonged, inarticulate rage, 'Daratt' is also a more emotionally intense and convincing depiction than Koreeda's 'Hana' of how someone bent on revenge might waver painfully over the task.

'Daratt' is a fascinating, powerful tale. Its intensity, its vividness, its simplicity, even the dry heat of the setting, all conspire to make for a riveting film.

Shown as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival 2007.