ABC Africa

Heartbreaking and beautiful documentary from Abbas Kiarostami, who once again proves that he's one of the best working directors. It's an account of AIDS-stricken Uganda and the group of women who are helping out by taking care of the over 1.5 million orphans. The documentary, shot on two digital, handheld cameras, shifts between a fact-finding mission and a more sublime bit of semi-ethnographic documentation. Kids love the camera, and they swarm around Kiarostami and his other camera operator, Seyfolah Samadian. They dance and sing and jump in front of the camera. The two men have an excellent eye for images, and they catch many that are powerful and beautiful. The music is always beautiful. As much as I loved this film, I had to groan at its final moments, which prove that Kiarostami is as much a manipulator as any of the directors who regularly get criticized for that.