• Release year: 2024
• Director: Nelson Makengo.
• Producers: Rosa Spaliviero, Dada Kahindo Siku, Florian Schewe, Michael K. Zongo, Marie Logie, Samuel Feller and Isabelle Christiaens.
• Screenplay by: Nelson Makengo.
• Cinematography by: Nelson Makengo.

Shotgun Commentary: really poor depiction of a tragedy.

Review

Tongo Saa, also known as Rising Up at Night, is a documentary that follows a town in Africa that has been flooded and lost its electricity supply. The content shows carefully curated snippets of the life in the town during this lack of energy, presented a very narrow point of view about the topic that leaves you with more questions than answers. Regardless, through the crack of each moment, one can tell more about the village than it might seem at first.

Nonsensical premise

The main issue of this documentary is that, while the problem it shares is really important and the people living in such dire conditions should be talked about, the focus is completely off. There are tons of crucial information that remain hidden, leading the audience to wonder about the logic of many of the decision made during the film.

For instance, it’s hard to understand why people living in a town flooded with one metre of water would make their priority to get electricity rather than getting rid of the water first. Electrocution hazards aside, the lack of electricity is easier to navigate than a lake of water in your house that is slowly corroding all your furniture, floor and destroying all your possessions and vital goods such as clothes or food.

The narrative is hard to understand or even empathise with due to these questions since the editing leads you to believe that the villagers are doing nothing other than asking for money and praying, instead of being hands-on about getting rid of the water while also trying to get the cables they need.

The questions keep piling on

In addition to this, lots of the complaints made during the documentary make absolutely no sense, at least from the standpoint of an outsider. A woman complains that she can’t make sure that the food she gives to her children doesn’t have maggots because she can’t see. Other people complain that the kids can’t go to school in the dark, or play outside. The question is, do children eat and go to school at night? Is their inability to reach the school due to the electricity or the metre of water that covers the streets?

The editing only showcases the life of the town during the nights. No days are shown, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. There is no place in Africa that remains completely dark for days at a time. So, why can’t people go about their lives during the daylight? Is that not light enough to find your way to school or prepare food?

Still, the complaint that takes the cake is, “Rapes and pregnancies are going up due to the lack of distractions”. Now, this statement deserves some further analysis since it’s the most informative and interesting phrase of the whole documentary. The owner of the sentence is a woman, a mother. She later also complains that, without light, one can’t properly discern who is a rapist, so it’s harder to remain safe.

Rape and religion

However, it is her casual demeanour during the statement that compares raping to a hobby that truly makes your blood run cold. Does she truly believe that the issue lies in the lack of electricity? Regular, well-adjusted people don’t turn to raping when they are bored. The fact that this woman thinks it’s such a normal next step is mind-blowing and tragic in equal amounts. Of course, there is no mention of education or cultural influences in regard to the raping subject. It is merely alluded as an afterthought, like a minor inconvenience. *sigh*

Contrary to actually worrying issues like the rape and pregnancy rate, what is referred to in abundance is religion. Not only is it brought up often, it is shown to the point of boredom. Every once in a while, you bear witness of a community reunion in which God seems to be a more present subject than the politicians stealing from their people, the water, or the lack of electricity combined. Songs and prayers feature most of the documentary, real work to change things…not so much.

All in all, Tongo Saa is a chaotic documentary that hides basic information and only showcases half of the daily lives of the people it’s supposed to be representing. Through this incredibly biased POV, it is hard to gauge the extent of the issue, how to help or prevent it from happening again, or even connect with any of the people featured. It is an example of why a minimum level of objectivity is crucial when telling a real-life story.

If you are in London, you can now watch Tongo Saa at Film Africa on October 29th at 20:00 and on November 2th at 15:30!

Advice to take from this movie:

• Praying won’t help you fix your problems.
• You may believe in God, but that doesn’t make him responsible for your life.
• A lack of electricity is not the end of times, especially if you don’t live in a cold place.

What’s your take? Have you watched Tongo Saa? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀