Beats of the Antonov (2014) User Reviews

Excellent documentary

[sfdphd · 8/10 · 4 August 2015]

I greatly enjoyed this film. I was first interested in it to hear the music, which has a great beat that inspired me to get up and dance.

I ended up paying attention to the story of the people involved and learned a lot about Sudan. In the U.S. it is not often understood that the people there are Africans fighting against people who want them to reject African culture and embrace Arab culture. They are all Muslims, but the Arabs are racists who think of blacks as just slaves. The refugees whose villages have been destroyed and their children killed feel the injustice and see the truth behind the lies of government officials. The clarity of their experience is vivid and the film gave me the kind of insight that I have never gotten watching the news.

Thanks to the filmmaker for bringing these beautiful and intelligent people to the world's attention. I hope their culture is not destroyed...

Sudanese government bombing Sudanese people

[Red-125 · 8/10 · 19 August 2021]

Beats of the Antonov (2014) is a documentary written and directed by Hajooj Kuka. (Hajooj Kuka also is credited with the cinematograpy and editing.)

I admit that I know very little about the conflicts in Sudan. I'm aware that South Sudan broke off from Sudan after prolonged civil war.

The South Sudanese are primarily Christian or adhere to traditional African religions. They see themselves as African.

The Sudanese are primarily Muslim, and see themselves as Arab.

However, as often happens when countries are broken up by religious/ethnic/racial conflicts, the split isn't exact. The people in the south of Sudan are, of course, Sudanese. However, they see themselves as African, not Arab. That's why they are being bombed by the Sudanese government in Khartoum.

The Antonov is a type of Russian cargo plane, converted into a bomber by the Sudanese government. Every day an Antonov flies over the region and drops bombs.

The people use music and dance as a way to maintain their ethnic traditions and ease the horror and fear caused by the bombing. For them, dance is not only enjoyable but also therapeutic.

I recommend this movie because it's informative and because the music and dance sequences are impressive and beautiful. The film has a modest IMDb rating of 6.8. I thought that it was better than that and rated it 8.