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When a movie silhouettes a man against the desert sand, the effect is usually awe-inspiring. Think of Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia. But the opening shot in Abouna, a new movie from Chad playing at Facets Cinematheque, creates a different feeling--beautiful but somewhat mundane. That turns out to be appropriate, as we find out the man is a husband and father who's leaving his family to find better work, though his return is highly uncertain.

We soon meet his two sons, Tahir (Ahido Mahamet Moussa) and Amine (Hamza Moctar Aguid). Tahir is fifteen while Amine is only eight. One of the strengths of Abouna, which means "Our Father," is how much Tahir and Amine feel like brothers. An early sequence has Amine waking Tahir up by putting a bug in his bed. Tahir springs out of his sleep and immediately starts chasing Amine out of the house. When he finally catches him, he gives Amine a brotherly beating--one that'll hurt but not too much. Later, Amine is taking a shower when the water cuts off; Tahir of course finds that hilarious.

Though the two tease each other, they also are inseparable, particularly when they find out their father has left. They skip school and head to a factory where they think the father's been working, but it turns out he had lied to them. He hasn't worked there in over two years. They then head to the movies, in which they see an actor whom they think might be their dad. So desperate for any sign of him, they sneak into the theater the next day and steal the movie reel, hoping to "see" their dad on film. Before long, they're caught by the police. Their mother, who's already distraught over the situation with her husband, decides that she can't raise two boys by herself; so she takes them to a Koranic school and gives them up.

The boys' experience at the Chadian equivalent of a boarding school doesn't rival Dickens in its harshness, but it's not a pleasant experience, either. They both dream of leaving and going off to find their father. One time they escape, but Amine hurts his foot on a thorn, and they're taken back to the school. Amine struggles with his asthma, and a feud with another boy exacerbates the situation. Through it all, they lean on each other, wondering why their dad left and dreaming of a time when the family will be reunited.

Abouna, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, is the work of Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. His formal control is exquisite, as he alternates long, wide shots of the Chadian landscape with darkly-lit and strikingly beautiful  interior sequences. He only infrequently relies on close-ups, which makes their appearance even more powerful. And his elegant pans and tracking shots situate the boys in their environment. Though the film opens on a desert, it's not the sand dunes of northern Chad but rather the flat and more populated south-western section that borders Cameroon. Because Haroun makes sure to place his characters in a particular place, the movie functions both as a narrative as well as a travelogue, at least for a Western audience. We get a chance to see how people live in a country like Chad.

The film also has something of a political angle. When the father leaves, the mother yells that he's 'irresponsible.' The younger brother doesn't know what that means, so he looks it up in the dictionary. The conversation that follows with his brother is priceless, as they try to determine whether irresponsible means 'not responsible' or 'responsible.' "Is dad responsible for leaving?" Amine asks. The question is an intensely relevant one, as Haroun pointed out in an interview: "A lot of fathers go away looking for jobs. Then they don't succeed and are ashamed. They don't want to come back as failures, so you lose them."

In fact, that aspect of Abouna might be more interesting than the story. I loved the relationship between the two brothers. There's one marvelous scene where they're talking while lying in bed, and their laughter at a crude joke will resonate with anyone who shared a room growing up. Unfortunately, the end of the film switches gears and becomes less of a story about the brothers and instead tries to incorporate other minor characters. It's a strange decision and made me wonder whether there was some allegory I was missing.

Nonetheless, Abouna is a small movie with many pleasures. There's a lovely reference to the sea, which reminded me of Truffaut's 400 Blows. The cinematography, by Abraham Haile Biru, is brilliant, with a particularly striking use of silhouettes. At times, you get the sense that we in the audience are watching another audience. Finally, the two child actors offer strong portrayals. The ending might be unsatisfying, but most of the film is a delight. Abouna opens this Friday (June 25) at Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., and runs through next Thursday.  

J. Robert Parks 6/21/2004