An absorbing blow by blow account of the odyssey of two castoff kids, ABOUNA is one of the truly great foreign films- and, like many foreign films, it deals with real world woes in a low-key, understated fashion that oftentimes makes the viewer forget that s/he is watching a movie. (Like MANON OF THE SPRING, MY FATHER"S CASTLE, anything with Gerard Depardeau, etc.) ABOUNA reminded me of something that happened to me one night when I was driving a cab. A young boy climbed into the front seat of my cab. Without preamble, he looked at me and asked (although I'm not black and he was): "Are you my daddy?" I twisted around to look at his mother, who was getting into the back seat, and replied, "Not that I know of..." His mother froze and stared at me for a moment before chastising him. It was at once funny and profoundly sad. I've known too many castoff kids whose absentee fathers couldn't've cared less what happened to them to see a movie like ABOUNA and not break down and cry like a baby. Which I did. It'll break your heart- and, if it doesn't, it's only because you have none.
Review of Our Father
