A guerra do Ku-Duro
Director Henrique Narciso Dito
Countries Angola
Duration 90 min
Synopsis
An action film the way they can only get made in Angola. It's set in a slum district and all the inhabitants take part. The film is both violent and comic. It is fast, satirical and made with the necessary nonchalance. Humorous action film with very Angolan locations (mainly slums) and focusing on very specific Angolan music. Kuduro, or ‘Ku-Duro’ as the director writes it, is a relatively new music style invented in Angola. 1996 is regarded as the year of its invention and Tony Amado, ‘Grandmaster Flash’, is regarded as its inventor. The music is great to dance to (there is also a dance style conceived by Amado that is known as Kuduro). In Portuguese/Angolan jargon, Kuduro means ‘hard butt’ and is powerful dance music. Unlike much African music, this is real DJ music, completely electronic and mixing House with Brazilian and African dance music. In this film, the director wanted to show the reality behind Kuduro music, to let people know that popular singers and dancers also have to confront a harsh and criminal world. The film maker maintains a comic, occasionally even farcical style, in order to show the problems in the slums of Llandaff. These areas are the natural backdrop for the music and musicians, but also for violent crimes, gangs and their wars, drugs and the trade in drugs controlled from higher up. The film is fluid, musical in rhythm, occasionally nonchalant, but made with a feeling for style and genre. The jokes are not always equally subtle, but no less effective as a result. The realistic background provides a true-to-life picture of life in the slums.
An action film the way they can only get made in Angola. It's set in a slum district and all the inhabitants take part. The film is both violent and comic. It is fast, satirical and made with the necessary nonchalance. Humorous action film with very Angolan locations (mainly slums) and focusing on very specific Angolan music. Kuduro, or ‘Ku-Duro’ as the director writes it, is a relatively new music style invented in Angola. 1996 is regarded as the year of its invention and Tony Amado, ‘Grandmaster Flash’, is regarded as its inventor. The music is great to dance to (there is also a dance style conceived by Amado that is known as Kuduro). In Portuguese/Angolan jargon, Kuduro means ‘hard butt’ and is powerful dance music. Unlike much African music, this is real DJ music, completely electronic and mixing House with Brazilian and African dance music. In this film, the director wanted to show the reality behind Kuduro music, to let people know that popular singers and dancers also have to confront a harsh and criminal world. The film maker maintains a comic, occasionally even farcical style, in order to show the problems in the slums of Llandaff. These areas are the natural backdrop for the music and musicians, but also for violent crimes, gangs and their wars, drugs and the trade in drugs controlled from higher up. The film is fluid, musical in rhythm, occasionally nonchalant, but made with a feeling for style and genre. The jokes are not always equally subtle, but no less effective as a result. The realistic background provides a true-to-life picture of life in the slums.