War Dance

"You have lost your parents, your sisters and brothers," the teacher tells the students. "You carry scars from fighting. But the story doesn't end there." Indeed, it doesn't. From a refugee camp in Uganda, the young survivors of a horrific bout of ethnic cleansing dance their way to Kampala, the country's capital, for a national competition. Sean and Andrea Nix Fine's fluid, impressionistic style allows the tragic stories of these children and their displaced, mourning communities to unfold. But by film's end, the children have, at least for the moment, transformed grief into art, as they compete with more than 300 other schools in nine performance categories. War Dance, which won a Best Director award at Sundance, is an indelible addition to the triumph-of-the-spirit genre, a haunting, gorgeous, true-life tale of inspiration, fortitude and the redemptive joy of music and movement. (JS)