War Witch

MUST SEE: Kim Nguyen's War Witch (Congo, 2012) - 2012BERic Best Actress for Rachem Mwanza. An account of a girl soldier struggling to survive in a conflict-torn central African state, "War Witch" offers the sort of harrowing experience one would expect given its abominable subject matter. The refreshing surprise is how impressively Canadian-based writer-helmer Kim Nguyen, little known beyond fantasy fest circles, handles the material, displaying a maturity, panache and emotional marksmanship that will elevate his reputation several notches. Pic will bewitch fest programmers but the premise will prove a hard sell to auds, despite the restrained approach to onscreen violence that, given the horrors of the region's conflicts, could have been so much worse. 2012BERic, 2012TOR, 2012TRI, 2013OE, 2013PALM. RATING: 8