"God Grew Tired of Us" -thoughts

The first thing that attracted me to this movie on the netflix search que was the title of this - God Grew Tired of Us - I mean could you imagine? A world where you would actually think that? So I clicked on it and added it to my list, it came to the house, and last night we watched it. If you are someone who doesn't like documentaries or does, this is so worth the watch. The story begins, narrarated by Nicole Kidman, in Sudan. A large group of men, women and children live together in their own village, until a government group comes in and wages war on southern Sudan. A little back story, the north is mostly Muslim, the south, mostly Christan. The government group that invaded the southern group killed men, women and children were, I'm sorry to say, Muslim. A group of 27,000 men and boys managed to escape and trailed down towards a more southern tip of Sudan to a UN refugee camp. They stayed there until they were forced to move to northern Africa to another UN camp. There are scenes of them having a life there, and becoming emotional while talking about their families and the women and children who died in their huts burned alive because the women and children wouldn't open their huts door to the intruders, and therefore the intruders weren't able to see how many people lived there and how many could've escaped. Its so moving to watch these growing men talk and cry about their families. Some of the older men form a parliament in the group. During times when there is no food, they get together and sing songs to help the time pass. Its interesting to see how they come together like this in times of suffering to pass their time, when no one told them to do so. Its not like they've ever had tv or watched a show or a concert to see and watch and come together for. They've never even experienced electricity before, but they know to get together and sing and dance to make themselves feel better. A few of the older boys were selected to come to the US to live, work and hopefully attend school. The movie splits off then and focuses on two groups, one in Syracuse NY and one in Philadelphia Pa. Its interesting to watch them being shown how to turn on a lamp or how to open a fridge or watch tv! The boys who have come to America are called the "Lost Boys", because they are lost, without their family and their home. They begin to find jobs, and establish themselves in apartments. One of the boys begins college, another one community college and they start talking about dreams and how they would like to help their people back home. One of the boys is found walking all night, not making sense, and doesn't know who he is or where he is and is admitted in a psychiatric hospital - thats probably the saddest of the stories. My favorite person in the film is a man named John Bul Dau. He believes his family was killed in Sudan and he lives with his 3 friends from Sudan in Syracuse NY. He talkes alot of about remembering his culture, and one day, recieves notice that his family is alive! There is a surprise from a local paper that his mother will be coming to visit him, and when she does, it is amazing to see the uninhibited reaction to seeing her son after so many years. I can't say I didn't cry at just watching her toss herself to the ground and start chanting, it was so powerful, and I don't even know these people. John Bul Dau talks about how they celebrate Christmas with his group back in Sudan, and how they dance and sing on Christmas eve and spend time together, instead of having a christmas tree and presents and shopping. Towards the end of the film, you learn that John Bul Dau received his college education and has built a medical clinic for his people in Sudan. Its a great story and I definetly recommend seeing this one!! (whether from Netflix or the video store!)