Laura, a lawyer from Madrid, goes alone to Congo in order to find her sister Sara, a doctor in an NGO, missing for two years during a humanitarian mission. She then embarks on a journey of a thousand dangers and will have to face the raw violence of the conflicts that reign in the jungle of a country ravaged by bloody wars between tribes.
Laura first tries to find help from a Latin man who lives in Congo. But he is hardly motivated by the idea of helping her find her sister and has priorities that are more pecuniary than solidarity…If the area where Sara was last seen is so sensitive, it is because it is home to mines of coltan, a precious mineral that is used to make smartphones.These mines are operated by Western powers and run by locals who rule the workers, some of whom are children, with an iron fist.Conflicts of interest and slave-like working conditions fuel conflicts, especially between paramilitary troops and local tribes.
Solicited, the UN and the Spanish Embassy refuse to risk themselves in this dangerous zone and leave the Spanish citizen to fend for herself.Laura then solicits Jamir, a former child soldier who knows the area. Together, they undertake a perilous crossing between jungle and dirt roads. They narrowly escaped massacres…
The Law of the Jungle
This film plunges us into the heart of Congo, its colorful, dusty and teeming streets of life. Then we quickly sink into the heart of a suffocating, oppressive jungle where danger is everywhere.Far from Western comforts, Laura faces the worst situations. Attacks with weapons of war, machetes, inhabitants killed in front of his eyes, an attempted rape, then another massacre… Death hovers behind every hut, trees exude fear, and the lush jungle is anything but soothing. The images are strong, striking, but the director has the ability to denounce and show reality, without falling into a moralizing discourse. What he shows us is violent, raw, cold. But that's the reality…
Actors: mixed results
The young Iván Mendes, who plays Jamir, is still little known to the general public. But what an actor! He excels in his role and his naturalness manages to touch the viewer in a way that is both tender and harsh. Jamir will guide Laura and save her life several times. Through him, Laura becomes aware of the depth of the conflicts that are engulfing the region. She gradually discovers the magnitude of the horror of a world she knew nothing about.
Laura is played by Belén Rueda. However, it takes time to get attached to her. It makes you wonder if she really believes in her character. Too bad, this role deserved to involve more guts.
A short reunion
After a journey during which she almost died several times, Laura is reunited with her sister. She lives in a camp near a coltan mine and works as a nurse. "Here, I feel useful," she explains. And if she has not given any sign of life for two years, it is because "El Halcón (the chief) has forbidden her any contact with the outside". But she has become accustomed to this hard life, far from everything and does not intend to follow her sister to Europe. A moving separation between two sisters, who have chosen totally different paths…
This film, with sometimes breathtaking, sometimes raw images, reminds us that even today men, women and children live in conditions worthy of slavery. And that the armed conflicts, fuelled by the economic thirst of the great powers who turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed on the spot, are unfortunately not about to stop…
