Avis des critiques

Touching but never manipulative, this heartfelt film has an expressive, unforced songfulness reminiscent of, say, Pather Panchali. A future classic.

Abouna starkly defines the masculine and feminine influence in raising children, and what happens when they're not so complementary. At 81 minutes, the film could actually stand to be longer, because Haroun suddenly introduces so many last-minute plot turns that there's no time to process them all.

Mr. Haroun, for his part, is alive to every nuance of feeling and immune to sentimentality... Poignant though it is, the movie is the opposite of depressing. There is too much life in it: in the warm orange glow of its images, shot by Abraham Haile Biru; in the lilt of Diego Mustapha N'Garade's solo guitar score; in the green and ocher landscapes; and above all in the actors' faces, which seem to be illuminated from within.

A sparse but cutting score by virtuoso Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure adds the spice that makes Abouna a very winning piece, and should add to its prospects as one of the most approachable African features in a long time.

It manages, in the most remarkable way, to get extraordinarily dramatic life events in the lives of two young boys into just 81 minutes of screen time, while always maintaining its unhurried walking-pace narrative. It never harasses or hectors its audience; the performances are calm and deeply felt, and so is the way they are shaped and photographed.

Guiding the story with a gentle - but hesitant - hand, director Haroun's debut feature desperately cries out for a firmer touch. With a stronger sense of purpose behind the camera, the potential symbolism of the boys' plight... might have seemed less accidental. As it stands, though, this is moving, yet unmemorable, cinema.

There’s plenty of food for thought, and the film does linger and grow in the mind after it’s over. But on the level of basic viewer engagement, Abouna does dip a little around the middle section, and never quite recovers its stride after the sudden departure from the scene of a major character.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun blends wry humour and youthful optimism to make this a provocative and uplifting experience.