Narrationless documentary is a challenging production choice, but it is pulled off well here. The difficulty is that you really have to give the piece your full attention, or you will lose track of who is speaking and miss some of the implied narrative thread. Use of sound is OK, if a little predictable in spots--the sewing machine in the sewing classroom, for example. It is the children's voices which are strongest element. These children were forced, on fear of death, to do terrible things, and the calmness of their retelling declines to simplify the emotional impact of their ordeal and its aftermath. At the end, the bright music of the rehab camp effects a powerful affirmation without slighting the unresolved darkness of what has gone before.
The chilling power of narrationless voices
WMPG PD
Posted on December 03, 2003 at 06:06 AM
Narrationless documentary is a challenging production choice, but it is pulled off well here. The difficulty is that you really have to give the piece your full attention, or you will lose track of who is speaking and miss some of the implied narrative thread. Use of sound is OK, if a little predictable in spots--the sewing machine in the sewing classroom, for example. It is the children's voices which are strongest element. These children were forced, on fear of death, to do terrible things, and the calmness of their retelling declines to simplify the emotional impact of their ordeal and its aftermath. At the end, the bright music of the rehab camp effects a powerful affirmation without slighting the unresolved darkness of what has gone before.