Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

wobbles303 The Chiefs 2pac and Bily where bad men and this film just seems like propaganda for their cause. God knows how many kids are watching this and thinking its the right thing to go out and arm yourself to the teeth with M-14s and machete's. Bily is the lesser of the two evils though and does come across to be trying to do some good. The "aid worker" needs her head checked and is lucky shes still alive especially after being brazen enough to tell Bily to his face that she's humping his brother. It seems like shes forgot she's hanging out with the leaders of this violent gang and that the two brothers are borderline at war with each other already. Her sleeping around could've seen a lot of people killed... Wyclef also seems too happy to be backing these gangsters up which just shows ignorance. Why should these guys get to tell their story when they have probably overseen the murders of many people who never will get the chance to tell their sad tales. Does Wyclef see that or even care? I was going to give it 1 but it actually tells some of the grim story so I settled on 3.

Roland E. Zwick According to the U.N., the most dangerous place on earth is a slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti known as Cite Soleil, an area of unimaginable poverty ruled over by armed gangs dubbed by the locals "Chimeres," which, loosely translated, means "ghosts." For the most part, these Chimeres have been active supporters of the Aristide government, which, in turn, has often paid them to intimidate and do violence against anyone who might have the temerity to dissent from the official party line (though the government has long denied doing so).The documentary "Ghosts of Cite Soleil" focuses on two brothers - one who goes by the name Haitian 2Pac and the other Bily - who, at the time the movie was filmed, made up two of the five major chieftains who ruled the area. 2Pac, who describes himself on camera as a gangster/rapper and as "pure Mafia," nevertheless sees himself as a defender of the downtrodden who have been largely abandoned by the higher-ups and powerbrokers in his country. Thus, his devotion to the Aristide government is seen as tenuous and conditional at best. His younger brother, Bily, however, would appear to have political aspirations of his own, so he is more overtly loyal to the corrupt leader.The movie was shot mainly in February 2004, which, as fortune would have it, was also the precise moment when Aristide was forcibly removed from office by groups of armed rebels, many of them former soldiers of the army that Aristide himself had earlier disbanded. Thus, the latter portion of the movie takes place in the not-much-more-stable post-Aristide era.It's hard to imagine a more despairing film than "Ghosts of Cite Soleil," as even 2Pac himself states right up front that in this impoverished hellhole "you never live long, you always die young." Given such an assessment, is there even the faintest glimmer of hope to brighten the lives of the people who live there? Well, there's Lele, a compassionate French relief worker who devotes her life to providing medical assistance and emotional comfort to these citizens trapped in unremitting poverty and endless cycles of violence - and even helps to broker peace among some of the rival chieftains at a crucial moment. But that moment is an ephemeral and fleeting one, as the status quo of violence, hopelessness and mutual distrust is quickly reestablished there once the crisis is over.If the movie makes one thing clear, it is that the situation in Haiti is hopelessly complex and entangled, with acts of violence coming from all sides in the daily struggle for survival and in the endless jockeying for power that takes place there. Even the brothers can't figure out if they're really allies or enemies of one another. And always, always, grinding the people down and preventing them from making a better life for themselves, there is the poverty - the debilitating, soul-crushing and inexorable poverty that rules their lives.Congratulations to director Asger Leth and cameramen Milos Loncarevic and Frederick Jacobi for their personal courage in being willing to thrust themselves into a situation so fraught with volatility and danger. For there is rarely a moment in the movie when guns are not cocked and at the ready - and tempers not flaring. In fact, there are times when you have to remind yourself that what you're watching is not a staged docudrama but a real-time documentary - so close do the filmmakers get to actual violence. This is definitely a must-see documentary - but prepare yourself for heartbreak.

koliya-k this is probably one of the most offensive and racist movies i've seen in a long time. it's very sad that the film-makers have gotten such accolades for such an opportunistic and sensationalist piece of crass propaganda. instead of actually addressing why young men are forced to take up arms to defend their neighborhoods under a brutal paramilitary/UN assault, the movie looks to degrade and demonize the haitian poor. i'm sure it'll play well to racist audiences in the western 'democracies' happy to crush anyones aspirations for self-determination. but to the global majority, the lies and propaganda will be familiar. much better movies include "aristide and the endless revolution" and (although older) "bitter cane"... what we know for a fact, that since aristide was overthrown 10,000 Haitians have been killed by the UN/paramilitaries and 40,000 women raped in Port-au-Prince alone (according to a recently published study in the Lancet).. who knows how many more have died in Cap Haitien, Gonaives, etc. sadly this film only serves to add fuel to the classist and racist demonization campaign against the haitian people waged by imperialists and the creolized haitian business elites (the actual gangsters in the real drama gripping haiti!)..

Ken Ley DOCUMENTARY - Taking an incredible risk Asger Leth documents the existence of the secret army, known as 'the chimeres', in the Haitian capital sub-slum, Cite Soleil - according to the UN the most dangerous place on earth.Former President Aristide has denied the existence of this government funded secret army, that spread terror in the ghettos of Port-au-Prince.Director Asger Leth succeeds absolutely in showing the total neglect by former president Aristide and also the complete misunderstanding of the situation by the American armed forces (or political leaders). And - mind you - Asger Leth succeeds without being political or biased by anyone or anything. This is journalistic documentary when it's best. At the same time some of the emotional-tools of film-making integrates smoothly within the faint storyline.That's the strength - and in some way also the small flaw. The storyline is simply too wage to manifest totally because the violence and roughness is so massive - that's why the 9 of 10 stars.It's a minor detail in the overall picture. A perception that 'Ghosts of Cite Soleil' is both a masterpiece and a necessity. It's a mindblowing insight in a horrifying world only 1 1/2 hours flight from Miami(US).And finally it's a sensitive emotional portrait of a group of peace-seeking youngsters with dreams, loves, losses and unbearable grief. No parents (they're shot dead), a few remaining friends (about to be shot dead) no schools, no jobs, no money, no future... All they have is this almost irrational faint hope, some cheap guns and a overwhelming struggle to survive.A tough but emotional and very well made documentary by Asger.A candle in chaos! Thanks mate :-)