DVD Review

Title: God Grew Tired Of Us

Production Company: Newmarket Films

Producers: Molly Bradford Pace, Christopher Dillon Quinn, Tom Walker

Director: Christopher Dillon Quinn

Narrated By: Nicole Kidman

Website: www.godgrewtiredofus.com

2006 Documentary

Run Time: 86 Minutes  

4 Stars 

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey 

Exile seems restricted to the pages of history, but it happens today and a core example of that is the crisis in Sudan. With so much media about ‘helping’ Darfur, people are forgetting to actually take a look at what the problem is and how to help. God Grew Tired Of Us is such a documentary that will examine the behind the scenes perspective of ‘helping Darfur.’  

Which brings me back to exile; The Lost Boys of the Sudan are approximately 25,000 displaced males living just outside of the borders of their homeland starting from the 1980s until the present. Imagine making a refugee camp your home? Living your days in no man’s land. Taking the lesser of two evils, these Lost Boys saved many of themselves from indoctrination or almost certain death. But they were faced with hardship, anguish, starvation, danger and separated from their families. The Lost Boys are only one tragedy among many in Darfur right now, but God Grew Tired Of Us is a hopeful documentary about rebirth and roots, and a way for us to make an incomprehensive large problem into a smaller understandable one. 

Narrated by Nicole Kidman, God Grew Tired Of Us follows the journey of three Lost Boys from a refugee camp on the northern border of Kenya where they have lived for a decade, to the new lives established for them in the United States. It is a journey of discovery and a look to ones heritage; but most of all, this documentary is an analysis of culture. Our culture, the Sudanese culture, the blending of cultures, Director Christopher Dillon Quinn succinctly shows what refugees from the continent of Africa must face when coming to the United States to live. 

It isn’t the land of plenty and opportunities are hard to come by. It is a struggle for the three boys John Dau, Panther and Daniel to integrate, but they are willing to learn and willing to work. We see the boys start their journey from the Kakuma camp where they discuss life at the camp, what they are expecting when they will arrive in the US and what efforts they will do in order to make the best of the opportunities we have. Then we watch as The Lost Boys are inexperienced with all forms of our technology/conveniences, giving the viewer a glimpse at how ridiculous we North Americans are at times. Sometimes the world around us is a blessing, but other times it can be overly complex and selfish; newer doesn’t always mean better.  

What was so riveting about God Grew Tired Of Us was that even though these boys did not understand our culture, they were quick to learn and more so, the observations and reflections they had about our culture, their own culture and the vast differences, was so thought provoking. That is the ultimate goal for documentaries, to make us think outside of what we know, and God Grew Tired Of Us did just that. 

Panther, Daniel and John Dau were followed for three years and the DVD shows a post documentary feature of what all the boys (turned men) are now doing in the US. They have all received a secondary education and are active participants in making the future of the Sudan better then the past, they are married, and have made a strong community of Lost Boys within the United States so that they can be represented fairly and can help to provide assistance and support for the new arrivals. The DVD also provides ways that the viewer can help the Sudan situation and the Lost Boys refugees in the US.  

The documentary covers so much, and has so many pertinent moments that simply can’t be covered in a short review. Even though God Grew Tired Of Us is a stark documentary about humanity that we can all take something constructive and reflective from, it seemed to have a great deal of hope as well. We can be helpful, constructive, and a part of the global community, but only if we so choose.