Johnny Mad Dog (2008)

A cast of unknown performers are used in this drama about child soldiers fighting a war in an African country.

Director:

Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Writers:

Emmanuel Dongala (novel), Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

Stars:

Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy, Joseph Duo

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christophe Minie	...	Johnny Mad Dog
Daisy Victoria Vandy	...	Laokole
Joseph Duo	...	Never Die
Dagbeth Tweh	...	No Good Advice
Careen Moore	...	Fatmata - Lovelita
Mohammed Sesay	...	Butterfly
Barry Chernoh	...	Small Devil
Léo Boyeneh Kote	...	Pussy Cat
Maxwell Carter	...	Monsieur Kamara
Miatta Fahnbulleh	...	Madame Kamara (as Miata Fahnbulleh)
Terry Johnson	...	Joseph
Onismus Kamoh	...	Fofo
Lawrence King	...	Ibrahim
Massiata E. Kenneh	...	Tanya Toyo
Anthony King	...	Pere Ibrahim

Storyline

Johnny Mad Dog, maybe 15, leads a band of boy soldiers in a civil war in an unnamed African country. "Don't want to die? Don't be born" is one of their shouted mottoes. We follow Mad Dog and his crew - No Good Advice, Butterfly, Chicken Hair, and others - as they kill, pillage rape, interrogate, and terrorize on their march to the capital. They take a TV station and lead an assault on the President's residence. We also follow Laokole, about Johnny age, as she tries to hold together her family of brother and disabled father. Is there more than chaos and inhumanity here? At war since age 10, has Johnny anything inside?

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Plot Keywords:

tv station | boy | rape | civil war | child soldier | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation (en France) n° 113658

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Goofs

When the girl finds his wounded father, the location of the blood on Sleeveless shirt changes in the following scenes.

User Reviews

Good acting but pointless and confusing

Johnny Mad Dog is a war drama in an unknown African country. The movie follows a group of African rebel soldiers that plunder and murder civilians.

To make a good summary of the movie, it's 90 minutes of African rebels harassing and shooting civilians with their AK47's. We are given a shaky camera and A LOT of close ups which is confusing since you don't really know what's going on. It ends very abruptly and leaves you with a lot of questions.

No characters to care for and no logic. You feel no sympathy for the main character this "Johnny Mad Dog". You just want him to die.

I don't know what Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire wanted to say with this movie, and to tell you the truth, you're not missing anything if you don't see it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] TFM Distribution [France]

Country:

France Belgium Liberia

Language:

Kru English

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Johnny Mad Dog

Filming Locations:

Careysburg, Liberia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$213,139

Company Credits

Production Co:

MNP Entreprise, Explicit Films, Scope Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1