Sambizanga is a straightforward and distressing film about one man being wrongfully imprisoned and atrociously mistreated while imprisoned, and his wife continually trying to find out where he's been taken.
It's presented in a very realistic way which only adds to the tension and discomfort. It's a no-nonsense film with a clear message, and it takes a direct approach in making said message clear. I think what it says is important, and mostly like the approach/execution, though it can lead to some slower parts and a bit of repetition (by design, maybe, but still).
I think this is worth seeking out though. It seems pretty obscure, but I think it received a decent number of votes on the latest Sight and Sound poll, and MUBI has a nicely remastered version of it, so it'll hopefully end up on a few more people's radars in time.
Plot summary
Domingos is a member of an African liberation movement, arrested by the Portuguese secret police, after bloody events in Angola. His wife goes from a prison station to another, trying in vain to find out where he is.
Director
Top cast
Ana Wilson as Narrator
Henriette Meya as Bebiana
Manuel Videira as PIDE agent
Lopes Rodrigues as Mussunda
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU 902.24 MB
984*720
Portuguese 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
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A difficult watch
Reviewed by
Reviewed by
Greal African political film
Angolan-Congolese film on Portuguese colonial opression, with traits os neorealism, a quite good cinematography and a moving soundtrack.
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