Darwin's Nightmare

Dir: Hubert Sauper, 2004, Austria/Belgium/France/Canada/Finland/Sweden, 107 mins, English/Russian/Swahili

Director Hubert Sauper's Darwin's Nightmare is an eye-opener and one that is bound to spark some debate in the national press regarding the arms trade, and the raping of a starving nation for its fish.

The Nile Perch was introduced into Lake Victoria, Tanzania. By whom, how and why are unknown but it is a most voracious predator, all but wiping out the other indigenous species in the lake (the largest mass of freshwater on land). Russian pilots are the preferred mode of transport for these fish out of the country into the EU. They do not fly in empty handed but with illegal arms for the ongoing conflicts in Angola, Zaire and Congo. This has resulted in more than 5 million deaths in the last 5 years alone, women without husbands going into prostitution to survive leading to the rise of HIV and many children orphaned. And despite the large quantities of fish being shipped out, the people starve. All they see of it is the extraneous skeletal waste, piled high and wide around the lake. People searching through the slop for a mouthful of food make for a heart-rending and gut-wrenching watch.

Amidst the gloominess, Sauper still manages the capture the uncontained spirit of the people: prostitutes express their aspirations and hopes for themselves and their beloved Tanzania; the children, as they eek out a living on the scraps of food, dream of becoming those pilots exporting fish from their country. But these glimmers of hope are miniscule next to the many forces against them. As one Russian pilot puts it: 'Children in Angola receive weapons on Christmas Day, European children receive grapes. That's business. But, I wish all children could receive grapes.'

Shot on digital video, much of the documentary was filmed undercover with Sauper often having to pose as a tourist to avoid arrest. That said a sizeable chunk of his shooting budget was spent on bribes to the authorities! Not surprisingly, Darwin's Nightmare still has yet to receive a wider distribution deal. There isn't much glamour in lifting the lid on the workings of world economics that maintains a slave trade amongst the poorer nations to serve the rich. While Sauper did not intend to make a political statement with his film, he makes it clear that he wants us to stand in the victims' shoes. Maybe then we can all, on their behalf, ask the EU why they still sanction this sort of deprivation in the 21st century?

Matthew Roman Kopinski