Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

"Some political documentaries suffer from overselling the urgency of their agenda," writes Tim Grierson in the Voice, "but director Gini Reticker's Pray the Devil Back to Hell nicely underplays the significance of its subject - the 2003 nonviolent protest by thousands of Liberian women that brought down warlord president Charles Taylor."

"Unlike many would-be inspirational docs, Pray the Devil Back to Hell does in fact amaze with its tale of against-all-odds accomplishment," writes Nicolas Rapold in the L Magazine. "Shooting simply on video and with limited archival resources, Reticker's goal is basically to spread the word about an underreported momentous piece of history. But even by just stating the facts, Pray the Devil is politically provocative. It presents, first, a country's self-destructive, male-led martial course righted by women; and second, the viability of peaceful protest under the most unforgiving circumstances."

Updated through 11/12.

"[I]t's finally the ever-present sense that 'peace is a process' requiring persistent vigilance that gives this doc's uplift its necessary measure of tough, sober pragmatism," writes Nick Schager in Slant.

"One fascinating aspect of the Liberian Peace Movement was the newfound unity of women, both Christian and Muslim, in a common cause," writes Andrew Sarris in the New York Observer. "Much remains to be done, of course, to repair and rebuild the society and economy of Liberia from decades of turmoil. Still, as of 2008, a tentative beginning has been made in what now emerges as one of the very few political crises in the world that’s on the path to an eventual solution with a modicum of fairness and justice for all."

Elisabeth Donnelly talks with Reticker for Tribeca.

Update, 11/7: "Uplifting, disheartening, inspiring, enraging - the mind reels while watching the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, even as the eyes water, the temples pound and the body tremble," writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. "Even those who think they know the story of modern Liberia may be surprised at what they discover."

Update, 11/12: "At 72 minutes, Reticker's film moves briskly, yet this respectfully restrained approach does nothing to diminish the film's power," writes Michael Tully at Hammer to Nail. "While Pray the Devil Back to Hell is certainly a celebration of women, first and foremost, it also works on a more universal level, proving that a strong enough display of love and hope, no matter the race or sex, can get guns to lie down and die."

Posted by dwhudson at November 6, 2008 1:29 PM