A teenage refugee, a German hospital, and a war she can't outrun.
A pain management specialist in a Berlin hospital laments how difficult it is to see if black skin has turned blue. The patient, 15year old Arlette, doesn’t understand German. Her knee was injured in the war, and unknown wealthy Germans have helped pay for her trip to have surgery in Europe. The camera follows Arlette on her journey, from her worried family in Central African Republic to the desolate rooms of the hospital and the rehabilitation centre. The girl’s gaze is captivating but impenetrable, and the easily bored teenager surrounded by adult strangers is only cheered up by an interpreter who knows her mother tongue. The story takes a gloomier turn when it transpires that rebel forces have taken up arms in Arlette’s home country.
Cinematography
Arlette's unreadable gaze—documentary as portrait, not explanation.
Editing
Juxtaposing sterile Europe against distant violence without cheap sentiment.
Director
Florian Hoffmann
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Central African Republic's civil wars have displaced hundreds of thousands; medical tourism narratives rarely acknowledge the violence patients escape.
Hoffmann spent months earning trust before filming; Arlette's family initially believed cameras would jeopardize her visa.
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