Darfur Now (2007)

I hate to be slightly cocky, but I feel like I am well-knowledged on Darfur and I am passionate on saving it, and ideally I would like to make a documentary on Darfur. I recently rented The Devil Came on Horseback (for the sake of typing DCoH) and Darfur Now in a span of about three weeks. I loved DCoH. It was a perfect documentary. It showed us everything, left us with a sense of frustration and urgency, which is exactly what Darfur is going through.Darfur Now is solid, but lacks any new substance. We know people are active, and while some of the people are interesting in the movie, others are fairly boring. Don Cheadle and the other guy from California bring nothing new to the table. The other four stories are interesting, but nothing ever happens to any of them. For example, with the female rebel, we hear her story and see her walking around. That's it.Plus, I know I would feel confused if I knew little on the subject. It is geared at an already knowledgeable audience, so those who don't know anything would most likely feel lost.Overall, it is okay, but nothing special. Instead, i recommend The Devil Came on Horseback, a fantastic documentary on Darfur.

Saw this last night as part of the 'One World' Film festival in Prague and I have to say it's the worst documentary I've seen there. This film suffers from too much money, too many celebrities and not enough focus on the problems in Darfur. A third of the film follows a woolly headed campaigner and Don Cheadle in their attempts to get California to Divest pension funds from Darfur. At one point we get some shots of the campaigner breaking down and his dad telling him how proud he is... It's all swell, but wait a minute, isn't this film about Darfur? The genocide and the atrocities there deserve a much more serious and thorough look and watching Don Cheadle telling us about... you know... the kids and stuff just isn't going to cut it...This was a film made for people who have no clue about Darfur and it seems to be made by people who have no clue about Darfur. At one point we get to see Don ironing his trousers whilst George clooney practices his speech in a New York Hotel room, I mean really, is this kind of thing necessary? The celebrities and the Western players in this movie get all the pathos and are presented in detail, such as the aid worker calling home to his family, Don playing with his kids etc... What is only skimmed over are the tragedies experienced by the people at ground zero, which is a real pity for they should be the 'Stars' of this film.Much more interesting was the story from the people actually in Darfur and also Ocampo in his attempts to bring those responsible to justice, but also this part of the story is skimmed over.Worst of all at the end of the movie it's presented in a positive light, Don's book is published, The campaigner gets to meet Arnie who signs the California divestment plan, and Ocampo issues the warrant for 2 members of Sudanese government. All this over a suitable heartwarming and upbeat song by Bono and Stevie Wonder and we're left feeling like 'Yes' things are being done! The truth is that no, they're not and this type of woolly minded film is only giving an incredibly superficial look at what's happening.As the end credits roll we see that Don Cheadle produced the movie and it starts to make sense for it shares his well minded but ultimately lacking in any real knowledge or solutions view. Not so much a film about Darfur as a film about how Some Westerners got together to make a film about what they are doing... Just to make them feel better.I will watch 'The devil came on horseback' now, hopefully will get some better insight.

Six intersecting tales that shed light on whats going on in Darfur. This film aims to bring you close to whats going on, and on many levels it succeeds. However while good, its too over produced for my tastes (fancy camera tricks make photos pop, a new agey score, picture perfect cinematography) and I had the unfortunate feeling it was made by well off Americans to make them feel better rather than to actually help solve the problem. Clearly thats the wrong thing to feel and it bothers me that the lasting feeling was not the need to do something, rather how self serving the filmmakers are. That said, Darfur is an important problem.and any means to get the word out is important.

Anybody who's been following the news of the last few years (outside of the USA,that is)should know of the horrible genocide of the people of Darfur,who's lives have been a misery from the government based militia known as the Janjuweed (if I'm spelling that right). Actor Don Cheadle (who appears in this film)was made aware of this appalling situation when he went to Africa to appear in 'Hotel Rwanda', and has been an outspoken critic of the mass genocide of the indigenous Fur people of Darfur. This film manages to tell six stories (Cheadle's included)of the plight to end the suffering and misery. The six intersecting stories interweave nicely among one another. If you saw the recent documentary 'The Devil Rides On Horseback',you'll get the basic idea. This film,although unpleasant at times,is a bit more audience friendly than 'Horseback', so older youngsters will be able to see it and not be quite as traumatized with the images,than in 'Horseback'. My only gripe is the music score, which relies on pseudo New Agey schmaltz,which doesn't compliment the film (I guess it could have been far worse--oh,say a musical score by Andrew Lloyd Webber,for example). That aside, Darfur Now is another addition to the growing ranks of quality documentaries that are playing out these days.