White Material

There have been other films about the conflict in Africa between the white colonists who have lived there for generations and the newly empowered black leaders who are fighting to stay in power. Between corruption, racial tension and the ethnic clashes between tribes and rebels, Africa has become a very dangerous place. But what makes this film a little different is that it seems to focus on one really bad day and one very stubborn white woman.
 
Isabelle Huppert (I Heart Huckabees) plays the daughter-in-law of a French plantation owner. Unhappy in her marriage she has thrown herself completely into the running of their coffee farm. She is very capable and a tireless worker, which really cast a poor light on her disinterested husband and her lazy, spoiled son. Her ailing father-in-law essentially has promised her the farm after his death. He has noticed that his son’s heart is elsewhere.
 
When a political coup takes place and rebels are ravaging the countryside, Madame Vial is instructed personally through a megaphone from a helicopter to get out before it’s too late. But Maria is stubborn. They’ve been through this before. Africa is always having political dust-ups. In her mind, the crop is ready and needs to be harvested. She refuses to throw an entire year’s work away. When she can’t find her husband, she gathers some cash to hire some workers in town to replace the ones that have already fled. When she reaches town to pick up her father-in-law’s meds, she see that things are much worse than she anticipated. She hires some workers anyway and heads back to her beloved plantation. This is a day when she’ll discover how much she is really alone.
 
White Material allows Isabelle Huppert to give a tour de force performance, but other than that it gives us no real insight into the political situation. The blacks resent the whites and the servitude that their poverty has led them to. On the other hand, when the blacks have the money and power, they are often worse. This injustice is what leads to rebellion and the in fighting between the African people. As a result, children are becoming soldiers and fighting behind rebel leaders who manipulate and use them for their own purposes. All the children want is to carve out a place for themselves in their own country. They are just looking for a place to belong.
 
White Material is like a Greek tragedy in that no one wins and violence begets violence. It is not an easy film to watch and the injustice shown is like a slap in the face. We don’t know how the story ends other than it ends badly. Is coffee worth dying for? Is land? That question is asked a lot in this film and it is never really answered.
 
Rating: First Run Good film, but only if you like hopeless situations