Munyurangabo is one of the best films I have seen in a very long time. It is set in Rwanda after the genocide and concerns two teenage boys, Sangwa and Ngabo, friends who are traveling from Kigali, the capital city, to an unknown destination. Ngabo has a machete.
The boys stop during their journey at Sangwa's family's home, where he has not been in three years. We soon discover a huge conflict between the two boys, and we find out where they are traveling. I won't go into that here. See the movie; you'll figure it out.
Munyurangabo looks like it was made for about ten dollars, and I mean that in the best way possible. There is nothing here to distract from the story and characters; the shots last several minutes at a time and there is almost no editing from shot to shot within a scene. I would say it's kind of theatrical if it weren't for the realism, the on-location outdoor setting, and the wide scope of most of the camerawork.
Two other reasons for the greatness of this film are its simplicity and its even pacing. Chung takes his time setting up the story, and everything unfolds the way it would in real life. There are no unnecessary plot points in the dialogue for the audience's benefit; everything is related to us through the concerns of Ngabo, Sangwa, and Sangwa's father.
Munyurangabo is truly an international film, which is one of the great things about the film. It was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, a Korean-American from rural Arkansas, and it is set and was filmed in Rwanda. The language is Kinyarwanda, and this is the first film ever in that language.
I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to see this movie.
Note: 2009 U.S. release.
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