35 COWS AND A KALASHNIKOV is a film about African pride. Directed by Oswald von Richthofen and produced by Roland Emmerich, two old film school friends. It is not a classical documentary about Africa. No boy soldiers. No hunger. No safaris. But rather a poetic tribute to the eternal beauty and sublime strength of the continent. A homage to the Surma tribe of Southern Ethiopia, the dandy movement of Brazzaville, and the voodoo wrestlers in Kinshasa. Archaic roots, colonial influence and Western phenomena, all exist in today's Africa. The filmmakers show three unusual facets of the continent. The result pushes the boundaries of cinematic aesthetics. Bold images and daring editing create a captivating way of storytelling, of poetry. 35 COWS AND A KALASHNIKOV will illuminate your view of the Dark Continent. |