The Hero

★ ★ ★ The Hero was made completely in Angola, which is noteworthy given the country doesn’t have a movie industry. So making the movie at all is a fairly remarkable accomplishment, but The Hero was sufficiently impressive to win the World Dramatic Grand Prize at Sundance. (Apparently, this was something the director had never expected, as he had left the festival before the winners were announced. The “sales agent” was the only one left to talk about the movie at the awards screening!)

This is a powerful, touching and compassionate film about the intersecting lives of individuals as Angola attempts to rebuild from within after a devastating 30-year civil war. First-time director Zeze Gamboa clearly has an intimate understanding of the challenges facing the country. (Interesting fact, there are over three active land mines in Angola for every one person!) But at the same time, you can feel Gamboa's conviction that humanity can shine through the challenges and adversity. And while rebuilding the infrastructure and curing the social ills will take time, the human spirit can still triumph through individuals.

This is an inspiring and enlightening movie.