EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Red-125 The Chadian film Un homme qui crie was shown in the U.S. with the translated title A Screaming Man (2010). The movie was written and directed by the Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh HarounYoussouf Djaoro portrays Adam Ousmane, who is called "Champion." When he was younger, he won the Central African swimming championship, and the name has stayed with him. His son, Abdel Ousmane (Diouc Koma) works with his father in a high-end hotel in the nation's capital. Both of them work at the hotel's swimming pool, where Adam is respected, and Abdel is adored by everyone because of his good looks and his easy-going manner.This movie reminded me of a Greek tragedy. That's not because the father and son come into unwilling conflict, but because Adam has to make a choice between two terrible options. How can you do the right thing if either path you choose is the wrong path? When there are two compelling demands, and each precludes the other, what happens to the protagonist?Adam is caught in just such a situation. There's a war going on, and the local political boss demands payment to the government. Adam, although not poor, doesn't have the money to make the payment. What are his options?This movie is worth seeing on its own merits. That fact that it's from Chad makes it even more important to view it. If I counted correctly, less than a dozen films have been made in Chad. The superb Dryden Theatre at The Eastman Museum in Rochester is showing five of these movies as part of a Mahamat-Saleh Haroun retrospective. My compliments to the Dryden for giving us the opportunity to see these movies on the large screen. (Some of Haroun's films are available for the small screen, but some are not.) Seeing these movies on the large screen was truly a privilege. Un homme qui crie is a great film--see it if you can. P.S. Even with the resources of the Eastman Museum, a print of Haroun's "Bye Bye Africa" couldn't be located. If you know someone who has a print of that movie, please notify the Dryden Theatre.

elsevy A Screaming man is a very interesting film, and is very different than most films people are used to watching, because of the slow pace. This film was very slow paced, but I think it was made that way in order to show more drastic emotions that the characters felt, and it gets you thinking how they will react without the actors actually showing it. I would recommend watching this film if you like to see something different. Many people are not used to seeing slow paced films, but trying something new is always compelling. In the film it showed the bond between a father and a son, but many problems started occurring between them. Adam the father of Abdel loved working at the pool, it wasn't just his occupation, but it was a hobby that he liked doing, and once his son took over his place, he was no longer working by the pool, but was sent over to work by the gates. Abdel gets sent to the army, and Adam/Champ finds him severely injured. The contradictions in this film is if his father Adam sent him to the army for sacrifice, or if he did that for selfish reasons to get his pool job back. By watching this film you get to ponder on why Adam acted the way he did. I would give this film a 4/5 stars, because the slow pace did not really effect me, and I liked how the film was different than most that I have seen.

brszasz "A Screaming Man" had some compelling scenes, but much of the movie was very slow to develop. I am aware that African movies have long silences during different times of their movies, but it seemed to be excessive at times. Some different, short scenes seemed very unnecessary with the lack of actual relevant talk about the true message and reason for the movie. For example, when they were eating dinner, the scene seemed to simply just drag on with long silences and uninteresting small talk. It was a little weird how "Champ" decided to send his son off to the war. Then, he wanted to go back and rescue his son later on in the movie. I, also, was not a huge fan of the ending. I found it weird that he found his son dead when driving home. After that, he laid with his son's dead body watching the water. Though it may have been symbolic, I was a little creeped out by the whole idea. There were also a lot of questions that went unanswered. The whole war got brushed under the rug when it appeared to be getting pretty serious. People were fleeing the country due to the big war, but nothing was mentioned about what happened.

chunky_lover_68 By far my favourite film I've seen so far this year, A Screaming Man is an extremely captivating and thought provoking film that doesn't have to try too hard to get its ideas across. I think it says a lot without having to say so much, and in that simplicity, the viewer can find a whole world of complexities lying under the characters and their tale. I don't know why but this film just really spoke to me on a lot of levels, as a employee, as a son, and as a man. I'm really glad to have decided to check it out as I had originally thought this film would be unrealisable to me and possibly boring, but it's quite the opposite, It's a film I'm going to be thinking about for quite some time and engaged me thoughtfully the entire way through.Meet Adam, he's is fifty-five years old and has spent thirty of those as the pool manager at the nearby hotel in an unknown village in the country of Chad. Adam is content with his life as it keeps him considerably happy and even allows for his son to have a job as his assistant. But all of that changes when the hotel changes hands to new owners, unfortunately they do not see the worth in this long time employee and former swimming champion. Complacency gets the best of Adam when he is informed he no longer the pool assistant, and instead manning the front gate of the hotel. This shift to a job he does not like is further impacted by jealousy as he watches his son take over the position he never wished to give up. What is more is that Adam's village is become a more hostile place by the day, as warring rebels seem to draw closer to home. It is here that Adam makes a regretful choice with the leader of the resistance movement, leading to the heartbreak for himself and his family. Can Adam learn to accept his fate and make better the things he did to try and divert it, or will he be lost in the growing turmoil of war and suffering that will leave him A Screaming Man? Wow, I did not expect this movie to be this way. I actually thought this film would be slightly jarring given the title, but no real screaming or profuse anger exists here; the screaming is done within the mind. And what a mind to try and unravel, Adam is easily one of the years best characters and performances. It's certainly a quiet performance, but it says so much without having to, I really enjoyed that about the character, he wasn't entrenched in some well said dramatic dialogue, instead it's felt and experienced along with the character. Youssouf Djaoro is ridiculously on point with the role, capturing all the confliction and anger of Adam in a single glance, I really felt for and rallied behind this person from the start; easily the best performance I've seen this year, just so perfectly done. The story itself is surprising and the emotions presented within feel really honest. The film also allows for brilliant moments of humour and introspection to go along with its more serious events, and the world around Adam is smartly realized. The pacing of the film is really solid, and the direction is flat out brilliant, the story wouldn't of worked without director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun eye for nuance and simplistic effectiveness. I found parts of the film quite intense though there is little action in the film, the title of the film is apt in that way, no one screams, but the strength of the story doesn't require them too, it is written all over their faces with brilliant ability. I only really take issue with the ambiguous ending which left me confused at the films final events, I suppose it's open to interpretation this way, but I think it wasn't really necessary; perhaps the director felt without it the film would seem cliché, but I found everything up to that point brutally original and eye opening. Overall I just really loved the story, and a better film could not be made from it, this is a very close call with cinematic perfection in my eyes and one that will most likely to remain at the top of my list come years end, quite happy to have been afforded the opportunity to travel the dusty roads and narrow alleys with this character. If I can track down a copy to buy, I most certainly will by it without hesitation.So I truly do recommend this film as a great example of effective filmmaking. I didn't know what I was going to get with this one, but the results we're overwhelming in a good way. If you get a chance to see this film, do not pass it up, as far as dramatic films go for the year, this is among the best you'll find. Unfortunate that it's joint sponsorship will make it ineligible for consideration in the AMPAS foreign film category, perhaps a group such as the Hollywood foreign press (Golden Globes) who define the category as foreign Language will show it some love. Either way, A Screaming Man is an extremely well played meditation on what it is like to have your world flipped upside down in a heartbeat, and how one makes amends with the unpredictability of life. Highly Recommended.