Soldier Child

Solider Child is definitely an emotional piece. Neil Abramson’s focuses on the amalgamation of an army of brainwashed young children who are kidnapped and tortured as they are trained to become child soldiers. Since 1990, Kony has ammassed close to 12000 young children who is has brainwashed to do unmistakable things. The story revolves around Ugandan children in remote villages where they live in fear of being forcibly removed form their homes to serve in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The documentary documents certain victims, social workers and medical doctors who relate to the viewer how the children are brainwashed and forced to kill. Young girls are also at risk as they are raped and beaten.

The LRA is led by a religious fanatic named Joseph Kony, who believes that Uganda should be ruled based on the Bible and the Ten Commandments.

Soldier Child presents the rehabilitative efforts being carried out by the Ugandan people to compensate for the atrocious acts by the LRA. The documentary is an emotional collage of saddening stories from children and social workers who are working to put these children back on track and reunite them with their families. The ones that are left. Black and white photos are often used alongside still title boards, these work well as they serve as breaks between the heavy information viewers have to digest. On the other hand, some may even argue that it is detrimental to the production and acts as a ‘saviour’ to poor footage.

As for the voice over narration by Danny Glover, I am not sure that having an American accent does justice to an African documentary. This however is the way directors get their documentaries recognized the world over. Through famous voices.
From a bleak and somber mood, the documentary eventually pulls through with positivity. The viewer is given a sense of hope that the situation will soon come to an end. This point is intensified by the innocence of children playing, laughing and behaving the way they should be.