‘Tommy Guns’ Review
Stars: João Arrais, Anabela Moreira, Gustavo Sumpta, Leonor Silveira, Miguel Amorim, Ivo Arroja, André Cabral, João Cachola, Vicente Gil | Written and Directed by Carlos Conceicao
For me, it can only be a good thing when I say that Tommy Guns is like no film I have ever seen before. It covers several genres and with the genre shifts, almost feels like it’s changing the story each time – whether it covers wartime drama, zombie flick or art house, it’s always engaging.
The story begins in 1974, just one year before the country’s independence from decades of Portuguese rule. Wealthy colonists are fleeing the country as Angolan revolutionaries gradually claim their land back. A tribal girl discovers love and danger when her path crosses that of a Portuguese soldier. Another group of soldiers, completely cut off from the outside world, blindly follow the brutal orders of their commander in the name of serving their country.
The first thirty minutes are a little slow and you wonder where exactly the film is heading but then the viewer is suddenly slapped across the face with a moment of brutal violence and the opening title shows. This is a good example of how this film works and it is definitely not the last moment of shocking violence.
Tommy Guns’ director Carlos Conceicao and his cinematographer Vasco Viana should take all the credit for creating some fantastic and memorable imagery. Some people might see certain moments as a bit too art-housey but the film looks incredible throughout. The creepy final thirty minutes or so were stand-out for me for both the images it creates and the action on screen. It’s a creepy, nightmare-fueled final third of a film in which the zombies play a centre role. There’s one image and moment that is clearly influenced by the original Night of the Living Dead but somehow doesn’t feel out of place at all and is brilliant in its own right. The fire scenes are perhaps the most beautiful and terrifying-looking ones in the film and the moments that stick with you for days after watching the movie.
The major problem I had with Tommy Guns was that some scenes seemed to go on for much too long and occasional scenes felt like they could have been taken out altogether and nothing major in the story would have been missed. A sex worker bought along to entertain the group of soldiers might produce a key moment in the story but it’s a scene that seems to go on much longer than it probably was.
There’s a strangeness to Tommy Guns that makes it completely unique. You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen next but not in a confusing way with the story, more about what style and genre the director is choosing to take you next. That was a good thing for me but not everyone will agree. If it was made a little shorter, I could have loved Tommy Guns but as it is there are one or two scenes that almost bored me. I was just waiting for them to finish to get back to something more entertaining. Thankfully, I never had to wait too long.
Tommy Guns is a mesmerising and weird film that will surely find its audience after a popular run on the festival circuit. There really is nothing else like it.
