War Witch
War Witch Image
Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

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  • Summary: Komona (Rachel Mwanza) is only 12 years old when she is kidnapped by rebel soldiers and enslaved to a life of guerrilla warfare in the African jungle. Forced to commit unspeakable acts of brutality, she finds hope for survival in protective, ghost-like visions and in a tender relationship with a fellow soldier named Magician (Serge Kanyinda). Together, they manage to escape the rebels' clutches, but their freedom proves short-lived. Komona then decides she must make amends with her past. [Tribeca Film]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. New Orleans Times-Picayune
    Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    Mar 29, 2013
    100
    Feels startlingly real and inherently relevant, a shining, sterling example of cinema at its most powerful and urgent.
  2. The Playlist
    Reviewed by: Charlie Schmidlin
    Feb 28, 2013
    91
    Blending a surrealist perspective of battle-tinged faith with the harrowing tale of one girl's resilience, the film is a laser-focused fable threatened occasionally by its drifts into character shorthand, but equaled by a wrenching lead performance by Rachel Mwanza that results in one of the finest of the year.
  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Zachary Wigon
    Feb 26, 2013
    80
    Nguyen's matter-of-fact storytelling proves to be the right match for a life of extraordinary suffering. In art, lives like Komona's are all too often given an alien sheen. Here, they feel unnervingly plausible.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Calum Marsh
    Feb 28, 2013
    50
    Though ostensibly a character study, it's nevertheless characterized by the vaguely moralizing tone of an issue film, one whose candor in the face of brutality seems calculated for maximum liberal appeal.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. nutterjr
    9
    A remarkable story that even though it does not claim to be based on a true story, it probably is. It is the story of a 12 year old narrating to her unborn child the harrowing story of how she ended up in the rebel forces in an unnamed country in Africa and what she'd been through. It is such a good film that without ever being over the top it manages to mesmerize the audience with a mix of great acting, exquisitely chosen soundtrack of African folk and pop music, extraordinary cinematography including the hair raising depictions of the spirits of the dead. It is a film that will not easily be forgotten.… Expand

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