Africa United
Africa United
Three Rwandan children set off to Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, to audition for the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup.
3.2 out of 5 based on 10 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Certificate |
12A |
| Genre |
Family / Children |
| Director |
Debs Gardner-Paterson |
| Cast |
Sherrie Silver, Eriya Ndayambaje, Sanyu Joanita Kintu, Yves Dusenge Roger Nsengiyumva |
| Studio |
Pathe Distribution Ltd. UK |
| Release Date |
October 2010 |
| Running Time |
88 mins |
| |
Reviews
The Financial Times
Antonia Quirke
“It has the feel of something freshly improvised, filmed delightedly on the hoof... I have hopes for the Yorkshire-based director Debs Gardner-Paterson – previously, incidentally, a presenter on Singapore’s Match of the Day – who never fears pushing the film in its closing moments towards something approaching the sadness of Midnight Cowboy. ”
20/10/2010
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The Times
Kate Muir
“When did you last watch a kids’ film about Africa that left you laughing, punching the air and weeping discreetly into your popcorn? This is the effect of Africa United, a mad, ebullient movie...”
22/10/2010
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
“If this tale doesn’t tug at your heart strings, reader, you’re already dead.”
24/10/2010
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Total Film
Neil Smith
“A weirdly unwieldy concoction that’s too dark for kids and too naive for adults. Still, director Debs Gardner-Paterson gets disarming performances from her young leads and the soundtrack is terrific.”
11/10/2010
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The Guardian
Xan Brooks
“What follows is a bouncy crossbreed of Slumdog Millionaire, Enid Blyton and a Unicef commercial; a film that so dearly wants to be adored and adopted that it seems positively churlish to shoo it away.”
21/10/2010
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The Observer
Philip French
“This somewhat ramshackle affair is packed with action, is handsomely photographed, and has enough realism and danger to keep the lurking sentimentality at bay.”
24/10/2010
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Time Out
Dave Calhoun
“Most adults will find its caricatures and whiz-bang bonhomie hard to stomach. The makers do their best to paper over an undemanding script with bouncy music, quick cuts and musical montages, and you have to admire the young actors’ spirited acting and the film’s willingness to place HIV in the foreground.”
21/10/2010
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Empire Magazine
Ian Nathan
“First-time director Debs Gardner-Paterson, who grew up in Rwanda, lacks the dramatic flair to match her enthusiasm to depict an Africa unclouded by genocide or colonial ruin. Her film is cheerful, pleasantly acted, in every sense sunny, but in its haste and sentimentality flits by without troubling our nerves.”
25/10/2010
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The Independent on Sunday
Nicholas Barber
“It's too corny for adults and there are too many condom references for kids.”
24/10/2010
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