Destined to confound, this sometimes surreal drama (with a touch of horror) sits in an uncomfortable space between metaphor and realism.

Carlos Conceição’s story feels like a provocation, and, if you can stick with it, you might find some interesting ideas about the colonisation of Africa and the challenges and remnants of decolonisation.

There are two parts to the story, although it’s not immediately clear that they are separate. We are in Angola a year before independence and a silent Angolan woman, Tchissola (Ulé Baldé), is our eyes. She witnesses death, Christianity, traditional rituals, and suffers the fate of many when she encounters a Portuguese soldier.

The other element of the story is a platoon of young Portuguese soldiers and a sadistic Colonel (Gustavo Sumpta), endlessly going through manouvres and penned in by an immense wall that “keeps the enemy out.”

The characterisation of women is not great – a silent African, a scared nun and a prostitute – and I found myself feeling that this was another white male retelling of an African war. Not only that, but framing the war around how hard it must’ve been for the Portuguese.

Stick with it, though, as it’s not quite what it seems. There is a deep metaphor about colonisation (and the misogyny and racism that goes with it) and the commentary relates as much to the present day as to Angola in 1976. In fact, this could be about any African country and the relevant European country that stripped it of its natural and human resources, and then fought a bloody battle to avoid letting it go. The original title translates as “Brave Nation”, something that feels loaded with sarcasm.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I’ll say a little more for those who have seen it. I suspect the soldier in the first story is the colonel in the second (the Virgin Mary necklace connects them), which is what narratively connects the two parts. There are recurring motifs of Christianity and of the mother and the whore – it is perhaps Mary Magdalene who leads them to safety. Christianity seems powerless, but also unstoppable.

Director: Carlos Conceição
Origin: Angola, France, Portugal (2022)
Language: Portuguese with English subtitles
Genre: Drama

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