A Sunday in Kigali

I have been looking forward to seeing the film version of Gil Courtemanche's book 'Un Dimanche à la piscine de Kigali'; it was a disturbing yet beautiful film.

The film takes, it seems at first, its sweet time in shaping itself up; but it is merely a way to draw you into the story, making you a part of it.

Robert Favreau did an incredible and sensitive job in being suggestive instead of using candid images but there are moments in the film that remain very hard to witness. By the time you are at the end of the film and the lights turn back on, you find yourself a bit stoned by the amount of emotions you have experienced. You then wish the film had taken even longer in presenting its different characters, or perhaps you wish you had paid better attention.

You want to hate the film because it displays such a level of horror; the hellish reality of the Rwandan genocide is clear in this film. But 'Kigali' doesn't allow you to hate it as you see its love story take center stage and shining despite the darkness of the subject matter...