Un homme qui crie

"A Screaming Man" ("Un homme qui crie") was a frustrating film to watch. There was so much potential but the film failed to exploit this throughout. And, while I would recommend you see it, it's the sort of film that most folks simply wouldn't sit through and SHOULD have been better.

The movie is set in Chad. It appears to be sometime around the present day, though this is uncertain--as civil wars have been going on in the country off and on for decades and WHICH one this is isn't explained. This isn't really a problem--just go with it. The story centers around an older man nicknamed 'Champ', as he was a Central African swimming champion back in the 1960s. His job since has been to work as a pool attendant at a resort in his country. While to Westerners this might seem like a dull or unimportant job, it was everything to Champ--stability and a sense of importance. And when his boss began firing and rearranging things at the resort, Champ is panicked when they decide to have Champ's son take over the job alone (they'd both been working together) and move Champ to the job of gate keeper. What Champ does to cope with this is fascinating and makes for an interesting twist, but unfortunately though MOST of the film, Champ just keeps silent and broods. There is almost no visible emotion at all--just brooding and silence. And, after a while, the film gets VERY difficult to continue watching because of this. However, if you've invested this much time in the film, keep watching--the ending, though very sad, does tie everything together well. My overall verdict is that with more energy and life, this could have been an amazingly good film. Now, however, it's interesting to very patient folks only--which is sad, as we never get to see films about Chad and its people.