Review of The White Darkness

Richard Stanley's 48-minute BBC-funded documentary offers an intriguing and illuminating portrait of modern-day Haiti and its people. With minimal narration and a spare, haunting score by Simon Boswell, Stanley wisely allows the Haitians themselves to tell their own story through a series of remarkably candid interviews. We learn that the Haitians believe the past and the present are the same, that they are descendants of former slaves who revolted against their masters, and that voodoo ceremonies not only invoke the spirits (participants naturally are possessed by said spirits), but also give the Haitians the necessary passion and energy to keep on living. Moreover, we also find out that attempts by current missionaries to convert folks to Christianity are disrupting the natural balance of things. In addition, such touchy subjects as ritualistic animal sacrifice are addressed in a commendably tasteful, observant and nonexploitative manner. Immo Horn's striking cinematography provides an extraordinary wealth of amazingly hypnotic dreamlike visuals. An excellent, engrossing and very informative documentary.