My Home Video of Africa

'A.B.C Africa'
84 minutes
Not rated

A.B.C Africa or ABC Africa, depending on where you see it is the story of two documentarians, Abbas Kiarostami and his assistant, Seifollah Samadian heading to the country of Uganda, at the request of the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development.

As so, this a documentary of their adventures. However, I would have to say that this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Although it is true that in a regular film, there is a plot, acting, and all that, this movie should at least have some sort of plot to it. The plot being to teach viewers about the problems of HIV/AIDS in Uganda, as well as teach about culture in the country.

There are some nice parts to the film, like the adoption of an Ugandan orphan by an Austrian couple, and the documentarians going to an hospital clinic, as well as meeting up with a group of women who save their money, so they learn the value of saving. A new idea apparently in Uganda. But primarily this story should have been what the documentarians were sent their to do, and document HIV/AIDS and how it affects citizens of Uganda, in my opinion.

Instead, we have some dubious scenes which questions why this movie is being screened commercially. The director decides to film scenes while they are driving. The reason I question this is because they use numerous minutes doing just that. This movie is in fact just 84 minutes, so this comes to show you how thin overall this documentary this is.

Some of the time, is spent where documentarians meet children, and the group of money-saving women singing or dancing. These parts were decently spent. They helped you learn about the culture. The introduction of the music was quite good. Also, their are scenes of oddities which bring to life how Ugandans live, like when a lifeguard billboard was covered up because it insinuated sex. Although they decide to cover up the bare-chested man, rather than the woman he was holding. Also, filming Kambala, Uganda showed how somewhat modern that city is to a regular city, but the areas that they visited in residential areas was so stripped down, and down right undeveloped. There is a big disparity.

But, it seemed all the much unnecessary when the documentarians used footage of children staring straight at the camera, touching it, just laughing, or talking in their native language, while no translation is given of what they say. Although the looking into the camera was the most irritating aspect of the film. It served no purpose. It just gives me the impression that I could make the same exact movie as the documentarians, if I too went to Uganda.

This just is a flat out home video. This is the type of film which is similar to what a family would film on their vacation. It is seemingly non commercial. I mean wouldn't you consider a film that spends seemingly five minutes on a scene where the documentarians are going to their hotel room as unnecessary. Even if they were pointing out how all lights are shut down at midnight? In conclusion, while the refreshing culture lesson might be great in this movie, the home video aspect all in all crushes the film down, making it not watchable, and a not-to-the-point documentary.