The Good Lie – Der Preis der Freiheit (2014)

The Good Lie – Der Preis der Freiheit: Directed by Philippe Falardeau. With Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal. A group of Sudanese refugees, given the chance to resettle in the U.S., arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.

“This can be a touching and humorous movie, which has the rare ability to transfer thematic elements from the harrowing and horrific to sugary sweet humor, all in one film. It centers around a group of young Sudanese refugees living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, in Kenya, who are selected after 13 years at the camp to participate in a relocation program to America, which became known at the time as the u0026quot;Lost Boys of Sudanu0026quot;. Actually, they will be sponsored and under the auspices of the Faith Based Charities organization once they arrive in the U.S.A..u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first part of the movie can be difficult to watch, as it depicts the horrors of the Sudanese Civil War, and how these surviving children saw their families killed by invading troops. Also, how they trekked nearly 900 miles across the sub-Sahara, under the most dangerous and difficult conditions to reach the Kakuma Camp. The remainder of the film depicts the culture shock awaiting them in Kansas City as they relocate to America.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eReese Witherspoon is superb, as usual, as Carrie Davis, an employment counselor assigned to help the new arrivals find local jobs as soon as possible, but who will also become more involved in their well being. Corey Stoll and Sarah Baker also add well to the mix in supporting roles.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe group of young Sudanese that the film focuses on, are all either actual refugees from the camp, some being child soldiers at one point, or direct descendants of refugees in the camp. Their performances are terrific and thereu0026#39;s lots of deadpan humor that emerges from their characters. The group includes Arnold Oceng, as Mamere, Ger Duany, as Jeremiah, Emmanuel Jal, as Paul, and Kuoth Weil, as Abital.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film was directed by Canadian filmmaker Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar), and written by Margaret Nagle.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBy the way, there is a well presented documentary on this exact subject called u0026quot;Lost Boys of Sudanu0026quot;, which I viewed in the last year or so, that you may want to check out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn summary, I thought this movie had heart and was able to illustrate the ravages of war, but then show what can happen when people are given a second chance in life.”