SLIFF 2009 Review: SLEEPWALKING LAND

SLEEPWALKING LAND (Terra Sonâmbula) is a vividly real film that tells a somewhat surreal story about life in Mozambique. The film is directed by Portuguese filmmaker Teresa Prata, based on the increasingly popular and well-respected 1992 novel of the same name by author Mia Couto. This is a movie deserving of a larger audience than it has currently been receiving, screened primarily at international film festivals.

Prata spent seven years making SLEEPWALKING LAND, a feat that demands acknowledgment. The story is that of a young African boy named Muidinga, a name given to him by an elderly man named Tuihir (Aladino Jasse) who claims to have rescued Muindinga from his village before the armed bandits that plague the rural African landscape could capture or kill him. Muidinga (Nick Lauro Teresa) suffers memory loss as a result of eating spoiled yam root, so he’s naturally curious about his past.

As Muidinga and Uncle Tuihir, as the boy refers to him, travel by foot along the dry and lonely roads, Tuihir teaches Muidinga many life lessons and warnings for how to survive during the current civil war in Mozambique. The two travelers come upon a burnt-out bus and decide to make this their home. Inside the bus, Muidinga finds a notebook used as a journal by one of the bus’ passengers. Muidinga reads the notebook out loud at night to keep himself and Tuihir company.

As the film progresses, Tuihir becomes increasingly interested in learning about the Mrs. Farida that the author, named Kindzu, writes so illustratively about. Despite Tuihir’s insistence that he not think about his parents, Muidinga refuses to believe they are dead and begins to wonder if Mrs. Farida is his mother, based on the writings. Muidinga leads the reluctant Tuihir on a journey to find Mrs. Farida, resulting in something of an Odyssey meets a coming-of-age walkabout experience.

Along the journey, Muidinga and Tuihir encounter strange and fascinating characters, including a crazy old man without teeth whom captures the two travelers and intends to hold them prisoner to remedy his loneliness. Throughout the film, the story of Muidinga and Tuihir is inter-cut with the story of Kindzu and Fadir, as read by Muidinga. This choice of story structure adds to the wonder of Muidinga’s youthful experience, bringing his imagination to life on screen.

SLEEPWALKING LAND is subtly embellished with a wonderful score by Alex Goretzki and a visual throwback to the art films of the past, relishing in the soft texture and warm essence of shooting strictly on film. The cinematography by Dominique Gentil (HOME) adds so much to this sensory journey, crucial to tying the often harsh reality together with the more fantastical elements of the story.

While the film does give a taste of truth for life in Mozambique during this period, the story is not driven by and focused on the massacres of villages, the many rapes of women, or the capturing of young men forced to become bandits. For the most part, these facts are touched upon lightly through dialogue or inference, but a few scenes are incorporated out of necessity and respect for those affected.

As Muidinga’s journey continues, the gradually becomes more and more imaginative, which begs the question of how much of Muidinga’s reading is straight from the notebook and how much is make-believe, as he struggles internally to keep hope alive of finding his mother. It’s clear that Prata took great heart in telling this story as it is nearly flawless. The story has a wonderful pace and a curiously intriguing circular arc that will have the audience pleased saying “ah-ha” by the end.

SLEEPWALKING LAND will screen at the Frontenac on Saturday, November 14th at 1:00pm during the 18th Annual Whitaker Saint Louis International Film Festival.