City of Shadows / La Cite (Kim Nguyen, 2010): Canada

Reviewed by Lava Farmer.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

City of Shadows is the story of a doctor, named Maxime Vincent(Jean-Marc Barr), who wants to flee the war in Africa, but instead becomes entangled in another conflict.  The British military who inhabit the city have forced the local tribe of Herenites to evacuate the city streets and stay quarantined on their ancient mountain village.  Rats littered along the streets are evidence of plague and a decision is made to isolate the Herenites from the rest of the desert society.  Vincent is haunted by his past, yet he is unable to avoid suspicion about the truth behind the sickness.  As he gains the trust and respect of the Herenite people the truth slowly reveals itself and he is forced to fight for what he knows is right.

Like the title suggests, the city is literally “full” of shadows and deception.  An air of deceit is apparent from the very start and the dark shadows cast by the tall city walls create the perfect atmosphere for secrets and lies.  Director, Kim Nguyen, uses the dust of the desert to give scenes an dirty and unclear feel.  Beams of light that creep through the dust represent the knowledge that is being guarded and withheld.

The soldiers who guard the ancient Herenite city and sterilize the streets wear creepy masks that supposedly protect them from the bubonic disease.  The masks are black with long cone shaped noses, making the soldiers look like scary, oversized crows.  They look like death dealers as they walk the streets spraying white disinfectant powder in an eerie haze.  The effect is an ominous, unsettling feeling towards the monstrous soldiers.

Vincent’s snooping leads him to find that the plague is just a hoax and the Herenites are completely disease free.  The people of the town are tricked by the dishonesty of those in power and led to believe that threat of the plague can be annihilated by the annhilation of the Herenite people.  In a final attempt to expose the truth, Vincent, rallies together the Herenite people to create a message they can send on the wind.  They write their story on hundreds of dry leaves from a sacred tree, then send them into the wind from the high tops of their ancient mountain city.  In an epic scene, the wind carries their words and spreads the truth to the unknowing city dwellers.

The film City of Shadows is a look at the contrast between the dark and light sides of humanity.  Like a city full of shadows, the faces of humanity are distinct and dynamic.  In every society there are those that betray and hide in the shadows, and those that search for truth and illumination.