The Silent Army

THE SILENT ARMY is a Dutch film looking at the plight of child soldiers fighting for warlords in sub-Saharan Africa. The film humanises the story by having as its central protagonist a white man desperately hunting for the kidnapped son of a friend who has been taken by a notorious general and who is now a ruthlessly cold-blooded killer.

The film I can best compare this with is JOHNNY MAD DOG, a Liberian effort which had greater authenticity and realism but hardly any kind of story. Thus THE SILENT ARMY is the better picture, even though the story is spoilt a little by the low budget; some of the moments are rather cheesy (such as a CGI explosion) which is a pity given the grittiness seen elsewhere in the story.

The language is a mixture of English and Dutch. The acting is generally authentic and compelling enough to keep you watching. The film is violent and harrowing without ever being disgustingly graphic. The actor who played the warlord made the film for me with his completely chilling and efficient performance devoid of emotion and feeling. It's a film worth watching if you can handle the subject matter.

A Dutch guy runs a restaurant in Uganda. He lives there together with his young son and their life isn't quite all that - he suffers from the trauma of having lost his wife and the political stability in the country isn't quite right either. When things go from bad to worse he's forced to do something about it.

I guess the story could be worse. It is pretty standard, but nothing too bad. What makes this film bad is the fact that one of the main players is in his daily life a singer/entertainer (and a successful one at that), but he's not an actor. Most of the scenes he's staring into the camera much like a rabbit stares into the headlights of a car just before being run over. The other actors in the film do a better job, but the irritation of having one bad main character is so bad that their good work is overshadowed by his bad work.

As a political message this film brings too much action, too much heroism. It might have left a deeper impact (on me at least) if it had not tried to be an action film. Then the real painful truth behind it all might have dawned some better, but not now. Now it's once seen, twice forgotten.

4 out of 10 toe curling bad acted scenes

excerpt, more at my location - According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, up to half of the world's child soldiers are based in Africa. In the end titles of the film Blood Diamond (2006) it is claimed that "there are still 200,000 child soldiers in Africa," so it's little surprise director Jean Van De Velde (All Stars, Wild Romance) felt the need to remind us of their plight with his latest film, The Silent Army.

The Silent Army offers rich, authentic-looking settings and some striking visuals; however, gaping plot-holes and cartoonish characters soon frustrate, so viewers expecting anything other than volatile scenes of children being harmed will be sorely disappointed.

Sorry, but in opposition to many of my predecessors I think this is quite a strong movie. The book might be a bit simple. (An heroic European cook saving a child out of an African rebel army. This is indeed not very believable. And the little side-love-story was not left out as well) But the picture has very strong emotional moments, is well edited and shot with opulent scenery and the acting is not as bad as many others put it. Just look at the rebels leader saying the cruelest things with the softest paternal voice you can think of. "You can call me daddy" - What a thrilling ambivalence lies in this scene. And the weirdest thing about all of it is that while watching the movie you know that those things are really happening like that down in Africa. (of course except the heroic part of the dutch cook - but the cruel part of it is unfortunately true) I have to say that I knew nothing of a Mister Borsato (Main Actor) before I watched this movie. Being from Germany I didn't even know him as a singer as all Dutch seem to do. And maybe that made my sight on his acting a bit more objective. At least I can say that I have seen many famous singers or pop-stars trying themselves out in being an actor with much less success then Marco Borsato did. only my 2 cents...

An evening to the movies turns out to be one of the greatest accomplishes in Dutch cinema.

Wit licht starring Marco Borsato is a great movie! From the first second you sit in your seat you are caught into the story line in which Marco Borsato goes on his journey to find a boy who has been taken by rebels. Although Marco Borsato is a singer from origin he delivers great screenplay and at the end of the movie he had the whole theater in tears.

Wit licht brings attention to the problems in Africa while bringing great entertainment to the movie theaters. 10/10!