Film Reviews

Ghosts of Cite Soleil

• Rating:
• Director: Asger Leth
• Starring: James 'Bily' Petit Frere
• Details: Denmark / USA / 88mins (15).

"How my life going to be? I don't know." If Ghosts Of Cite Soleil was fiction and not a documentary, it would be too preposterous to take seriously; too much suspension of disbelief would be needed to make it work. But it's not a work of fiction, because in 2004 directors Leth and Loncarevic took their cameras into the heart of Cite Soleil, Haiti; a shantytown quarter of the capital Port Au Prince, which the UN has called the most dangerous place in the world. Leth and Loncarevic document the lives of two rival gangs called 'chimeres' or ghosts as they vie for power. The gangs are President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's 'secret army' and are charged with killing and persecuting protestors who demand an end to his rule that promised a lot but delivered little. One gang is led by the charismatic 2pac, a man convinced of his imminent death, but still wants away from the violence and hopes to break into hip-hop with the help of former Fugees frontman Wyclef Jean (who contributes to the soundtrack). The other gang is headed up by 2pac's younger brother Bily, a man drunk on power, violence and accepts that this is all he could ever amount to. Although there is respect between the two brothers, Bily and 2pac don't trust each other, keeping their distance in case violence breaks out, which might force them to do the unthinkable. If that isn't bad enough, pretty French relief worker Lele, who is loved by Bily, has fallen in love with 2pac and tensions are strained even further. While all this is going on, Aristide's tenuous hold on power is slipping as former-supporters-turned-rebels, camped outside the city, are preparing to attack the capital. What is striking about Ghosts Of Cite Soleil is the honesty and openness of 2pac and Bily, who use the camera like a priest's confession box, laying out their hopes and fears with candour. This is a tightly-wound documentary, as there's an unbearable tension in every scene with the viewer is half-expecting someone to be shot on camera at any given moment. Even the directors are threatened: "I feel like killing you to take your camera," so says one interviewee when they get too close. Unmissable.

Review by Gavin Burke