Ben'Imana Review: Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's Debut Film Explores Forgiveness and Trauma in Post-Genocide Rwanda
By
David Ehrlich
13d ago· 7 min readenReview
100/100
Golden Brown
Bagelometer↗
Slow-proofed and worth the wait. Worth its weight in flour.
Score100TypereviewSentimentpositive
Summary
A review of Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo's debut film "Ben'Imana" (By God's Grace), the first Rwandan feature ever to play at Cannes. The film is a deeply moving drama about genocide survivors reckoning with what they can bear to forgive. The review draws parallels to Peter Weir's "Fearless" in exploring trauma and survival, examining how the film handles the complex themes of forgiveness, memory, and healing in post-genocide Rwanda.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledThe first Rwandan feature ever to play at Cannes is a deeply moving drama about genocide survivors reckoning with what they can bear to forgive.
There's a crucial scene roughly halfway through Peter Weir's 'Fearless' (1993) in which the survivors of a horrific plane crash gather together in a session intended for them to vocalize their traumatic experiences of the accident as a means of healing.
One survivor, Carla (Rosie Perez), pushes back against the exercise, suggesting this isn't doing anyone present any good – she's been struggling with the death of her infant son who was ejected from her lap while the plane fell.
The first Rwandan feature ever to play at Cannes is a deeply moving drama about genocide survivors reckoning with what they can bear to forgive.
