Dir. Asger Leth, Denmark/US, 2006, 88 mins
Cast (as themselves): Winson '2Pac' Jean, Wyclef jean, James 'Bily' Petit Frere, Eleonore 'Lele' Senlis
Review by Philippa Bradnock
Director Asger Leth is a first time feature maker, but has an impressive cinematic background from father Jorgen Leth (admired by Lars Von Trier and obstructed by him in The Five Obstructions). Leth had incredible access to his subjects – two gang leader brothers (2pac and Bily) ruling over the Haitian slum of Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince. We follow them and watch their difficult relationship and the fallout from President Aristide’s abrupt departure from Haiti in 2004. As Aristide’s supporters and paid thugs, the gangs of chimerès (translated as ‘ghosts’) are another target for the advancing rebel army.
Leth has pulled off something extraordinary in simply managing to film in the notorious Cité Soleil and stay alive. But the footage of his subjects is also startlingly personal. Much of the film is made up of 2pac speaking direct to camera about his fears, and the brothers’ discomfiting relationship with Lele, a French relief worker.
The focus on individual human emotion is both its strength and its disappointing weakness. Leth has said that he ‘didn’t want to get swallowed up by the news’. But he does use extensive news archive footage, plus more formal interviews with opposition politicians and other figures of authority. He provides a comprehensive account of the political situation in Haiti, but his desire to avoid judging his subjects means that there is little insight into or context for their actions. For example, we never learn what Lele actually does, why she came to Haiti or what her feelings are about her friendship with the brothers. With no evidence for their formidable reputation or interviews with local people it’s hard to weigh 2pac and Bily’s vulnerability against their image. As a result they become isolated, their stories loop round and round but lead nowhere and the squabbles over guns in the street begin to seem like childish bickering.
The film’s visual style is also alienating. Leth uses rapid cutting and a mix of different looks – colour and black and white, hand held and static camera. There is also a loud, constant and intrusive soundtrack that quickly becomes wearing. Each new shot of 2pac, Bily or Lele is insistently tagged with their names as if, having watched them for the last half an hour, we might suddenly fail to recognise them. This impatient, music video style never allows us the moments of reflection that we need to digest what we’ve seen. The presence of Wyclef Jean on the soundtrack, in the film and running joyously along in Cité Soleil as the end credits roll provides another source of distraction.
Ghosts of Cité Soleil is a promising first from Leth, and an intriguing film. However, it fails to satisfy as documentary because it does not connect its own political analysis with the lives of its subjects. It is a remarkable opportunity to see into a place that few of us will ever have to go but during his visit Leth must have filmed material which would have given a clearer idea of that life than the parts he chose to show.
|
