N’Dala is a homeless young man forced out of his native town of Bie into the big city of Luanda by civil war. He was taken in by a Catholic orphanage, but he wanted no part of it and ran away to fend for himself on the streets (why he makes this decision is puzzling and it’s never really explored.) His first day is spent meandering and he sneaks into the beach tent of an old fisherman who later discovers him, feeds him and becomes a friend to him. N’Dala also meets Ze, a kid a few years older than him who shows him the ropes in the big city. They sneak into movies, they smoke cigarettes, they do chores for prostitutes and swindlers in exchange for food and shelter. N’Dala badly wants to go back to Bie, but it’s not an option and his hanging around with the bad guys eventually catches up with him. It is remarkable how good of a job non-professional actors that are children do in the film. That being said, it didn’t do a lot for me as a film. I understand that it’s important that films like this be made, but this one didn’t grab me at any time as there was no real narrative or character development. You kind of feel like you’re just peeking in on brief segments of someone’s actual life.
Cinema of the World 