Kidnapped by rebel armies at age 12, a child soldier tells her story.

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Rebel soldiers attack a village in Subsaharan Africa and massacre its inhabitants. 12-year-old Komona is forced to kill her parents before being taken away to apprentice as a solider. Beaten and drugged with “magic milk” to immunize her against fear, she soon wields a Kalashnikov, which will take the place of her father and mother (as her commander says). Graced with premonitions thanks to the spirits she sees, Komona is called a witch by her chief, Grand Royal Tiger. But one day, Komona escapes with the Magician, an albino soldier who treats her like a big brother. Will she be able to live a normal life again?

Written and directed by the talented Quebecois filmmaker Kim Nguyen, this unsentimental and unvoyeuristic film is a masterpiece in restraint. Narrated with distance and humility by Komona (the extraordinary Rachel Mwanza) to her future child, the story is overwhelming without dwelling on scenes of cruelty. Nguyen is well-versed in child soldiers and the way they are indoctrinated. He also denounces their exploitation for the purpose of mining coltan, a metallic ore sold at $250/kg to manufacture cell phones and computers that is at the heart of the incessant murderous conflict in the Congo...