(2008; Kinyarwanda) Before departing Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, with his best friend Sangwa (Eric Ndorunkundiye), who left his home and parents three years earlier, Ngabo (Jeff Rutagengwa) steals a machete from a shop in the marketplace.

The pair of teenagers have to hitchhike because Sangwa spent their bus fare on a new shirt for himself and fabric for his mother. Upon reaching Sangwa's family home, the prodigal son is warmly greeted by his mother but upbraided by his father, demanding to know if he has "no shame" for leaving the family. When his mother asks him to stay, Sangwa says that's impossible because he and Ngabo must look for work.

Anxious to continue their journey, Ngabo reminds his friend, "We're on our way to kill a man."

This very deliberately slow-paced, first feature-length film in the Kinyarwanda language, directed by Lee Isaac Chung (co-written with Samuel Gray Anderson), with a recital of a lengthy poem, "Liberation Is a Journey," near the end, involves the relationship between an orphaned Tutsi and a Hutu years after the 1994 genocide.

Attempting to appease his angry father (who has reformed by giving up alcohol and tobacco, according to Sangwa's childhood friend Gwiza), Sangwa works hard in the field with his hoe and patches up cracks in the wall of the family abode. No longer willing to accompany Ngabo on his murderous mission, Sangwa tells his friend: "We don't have to kill that man."

Unrepentant, Ngabo, who grew up in the western part of the country near Kiyube, replies that it is his duty to avenge his father's death; his mother died shortly after they fled to a refugee camp.

After Sangwa's father blames Ngabo for bringing trouble, including Gwiza's illness, Ngabo has a falling out with Sangwa, alleging that his friend's father probably killed Tutsis as well. When Sangwa's father learns of the boys' actual intentions, he throws his son out of the home.

Continuing alone, Ngabo narrates the concluding portion, revealing that his father gave him the name of a famous African warrior, Munyurangabo.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Patrick Ivers can be reached via e-mail at .