Luckily, a low-res DVD version survived and, much to the director’s astonishment, became a viral sensation, not just within his own country, but around the world. Supposedly filmed in 2010, the resultant action spectacular was apparently lost, partially due to the harsh Ugandan working conditions and also because the careless Kampalan helmsman inadvertently wiped the film from his computer in readiness for his next feature. getting all your mates round your house, imbibing as much alcohol as possible, and laughing and shouting in all the right (and wrong) places, trying not to spray mouthfuls of Doritos at anyone within chuckling distance. Yet as Who Killed Captain Alex? kicks into gear, it becomes evident that this is Party Cinema of the highest order - i.e. Am I clever enough to get the joke? Is it a joke in the first place? Should I be laughing at or with what’s going on in front of my bemused eyes? Is Who Killed Captain Alex? meant to be taken seriously? Am I being overly-patronising or downright insulting thinking that a bunch of enthusiastic Ugandan’s can’t take $200, a modified car-jack for a tripod and produce a sophisticated satire set entirely in the slums of Wakaliga, Kampala? In these days of meta-filmmaking, I’m never quite sure of a movie maker’s true intentions. Thanks to the good hands of self-taught writer/director/editor/cinematographer/producer/cinematic force of nature Nabwana I(saac) G(odfrey) G(eoffrey), what superficially seems to be a cheap, amateurish slice of juvenile old claptrap is actually an incredibly subversive, irreverent homage/pastiche of 80s American action cinema by way of DIY commando filmmaking at its best.Īt least, that’s my take on it. Apparently “home of da best of da best movies!” If Who Killed Captain Alex? is anything to go by, Uganda’s fledgling film industry really does produce “da best of da best” - at least in the realm of bonkers, ultra-lo-fi actioners. Who Killed Captain Alex? Uganda’s First Action Movie is currently playing in Montreal at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
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