The opening scene of "Munyurangabo" passes very quickly, yet sets up the emotional conflict among its characters and within its central protagonist, Ngabo (not until the end is the relationship between the title of the film and this name revealed). I had to return a couple of times to understand the connection. It opens with Ngabo seeing a machete in the marketplace and observing two men fighting. Next we see Ngabo, machete in his lap, seated on a cement wall. He looks at the machete its tip covered in blood, and then again, and it is clean. Did he imagine the blood? Did the men in the market use it on each other?
Ngabo and his friend, Sangwa, set off on a trip. They begin with a physical and emotional closeness that very gradually disintegrates. Sangwa has spent their money on a new shirt, so they must hitchhike. Their goal is to kill a man, but will visit Sangwa's family (whom he has not seen in three years) along the way. As this visit is prolonged, the friends drift apart. The dialog is very spare, but each word and gesture is significant in driving the friends apart. Must Hutus and Tutsis inevitably remain enemies? When Ngabo continues his journey alone, his meeting with the Rwandan poet-laureate at a roadside shop provides the film's turning point.
The Rwandan genocide has long passed from the news media, but this film does much to reveal something about its effect on the generation that have grown up in it aftermath.
Ngabo and his friend, Sangwa, set off on a trip. They begin with a physical and emotional closeness that very gradually disintegrates. Sangwa has spent their money on a new shirt, so they must hitchhike. Their goal is to kill a man, but will visit Sangwa's family (whom he has not seen in three years) along the way. As this visit is prolonged, the friends drift apart. The dialog is very spare, but each word and gesture is significant in driving the friends apart. Must Hutus and Tutsis inevitably remain enemies? When Ngabo continues his journey alone, his meeting with the Rwandan poet-laureate at a roadside shop provides the film's turning point.
The Rwandan genocide has long passed from the news media, but this film does much to reveal something about its effect on the generation that have grown up in it aftermath.