Olá, and welcome back to another weekly Movie and TV Review!

The movie up for review is Another Day of Life, which goes by the same name as the book.

I’m not a history buff by any stretch of the imagination, so I can’t speak to how much of it is accurate, but you know how the saying goes: history is written by the victor, and in this case, Kapuściński won.

The film proves to be quite entertaining—is that the word? Lol.—as it marries animated CGI sequences with live interviews from surviving members of the crew.

Sadly, Kapuściński himself wasn’t around to see the film make it to production.

Without further ado, let’sssss get it!

Confusão! Confusão!

Everything is all mixed up!

It’s 1975, and Angola is falling apart as its former captors, the Portuguese, flee amid the ongoing war for independence.

The country is split between the MPLA, backed by the socialist USSR, and the FNLA, backed by the capitalist United States.

Lone Polish journalist Ryszard “Ricardo” Kapuściński rushes headfirst into the heart of the conflict, determined to report on the war and meet the legendary military commander, Farrusco.

Just days before D-Day—November 11, 1975, Angola’s Independence Day—Ricardo lands in Luanda.

Rumors are swirling that both the Cubans and the CIA have their hands deep in the conflict, each pursuing its own interests, though nothing has been confirmed.

We then meet our first interviewee, Artur, a fellow journalist who soon accompanies Kapuściński on his journey south toward Farrusco in Pereira d’Eça.

During the drive south, Artur warns Ricardo that life and death are essentially a coin toss depending on whom they encounter.

The MPLA greet one another with “Camarada.”

And they don’t greet first.

As luck would have it, they’re stopped by the enemy.

Thankfully, Carlota—the Angolan She-Ra—comes through whooping ass, and Ricardo and Artur live to continue their journey.

Carlota

Long story short, Kapuściński eventually makes it to Pereira d’Eça.

But spoiler alert:

The most important thing isn’t that he reaches his destination.

It’s Carlota.

Carlota dies at the tender age of twenty years young, but she’d already seen more of life than most people ever will.

She cared deeply about the education and well-being of the children around her.

According to the film, she never became the nurse she dreamed of being, nor did she get the children she hoped to have someday.

Her story made me reflect on how I’ve spent the last twenty-plus years of my own life.

And honestly, I’m a little ashamed that I didn’t take my younger years more seriously.

But I’m still hopeful that things can always get better.

As my mother once said:

“Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

Final Thoughts

The film serves as a memorial to those who fell on the path toward freedom.

And it’s a powerful reminder that freedom ain’t free.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the film.

Anypoops, I give Another Day of Life a fresh rose.