Hollow City (2004)

One of the few films to have been made in Angola since it was torn apart by civil war, HOLLOW CITY is an eye-opening drama set in Luanda, the capital of Angola, in the aftermath of the thirty-year war. Following a massacre in the tribal village of Bié, 11-year-old N'dala (Roldan Pinto João), one of the many war orphans, is rescued by a missionary nun (Ana Bustorff) and flown to Angola's capital, where he instantly runs away and journeys into the heart of the giant city.

With only a sack on his back and a toy car made of wire, N'dala navigates the bewildering sights and sounds of Luanda. Determined to return to his village, N'dala finds himself meeting an array of characters with different agendas and going through different problems of their own. Meanwhile the nun, who has been looking for N'dala since his disappearance at the airport, is close on his heels but may not arrive in time to stop yet another tragic end to one of the HOLLOW CITY'S short and innocent lives.

{Winner! Graine de Cinéphage Award, 2004}
{Winner! Special Jury Prize, 2004 Paris Film Festival}
{Winner! Most Promising Filmmaker, Capetown World Cinema Festival}
{Winner! Audience Award & 3rd Jury Award - Milan COE Festival}
{Special Jury Mention - "Images de Femmes" Vues d'Afrique, Montreal} Product Description

Good movie about childhood innocence and corruption

I fully agree with reviewer Richard Jones that the ending is totally unexpected. It is as if the author or script writer of the story suddenly ran out of time, was given a sudden deadline to end it or just simply didn't know or wasn't sure how to end it. But that's just a speculation. I'm sure the ending was purposely done that way. Otherwise, the begining and the middle of the movie were engrossing enough to make it basically a fine movie. Perhaps others may give their judgement of this otherwise good movie based on their interpretation of the ending.The film is about a young Angolan boy,a war orphan, who ran away from his caretakers to try to find his way back to his village of origin. He had to go through Luanda,the Angolan capital, realizing the risks and dangers of the city particularly for his very young age alone. The story goes with the Missionary nun who noted the missing orphan and began her desperate search to find him. Meanwhile,the boy became more and more exposed to the
vices of a big city and thus increasing the risk of getting dangerously involved with the wrong people. It is a good movie,pretty fast paced, but be prepared for the ending. August 20, 2007

great for fans of foreign cinema

I initially ordered this film to add to my already 300+ DVD collection.

I had the opportunity to introduce this film to an audience at Morehouse College last semester, where it was warmly received.

The ending was totally unexpected and viewers will certainly converse as to why it ended the way it did! The age-old question of nature vs. nurture will be asked and debated for hours after the last frame... June 29, 2007

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