According to “Lost Boys of Sudan,” a documentary about two refugees
airlifted to Houston, these teenage orphans imagined that America would be
“heaven” — that this land they’d only dreamed about would fulfill all their
aspirations for money, education and freedom. Instead, what Peter Dut and
Santino Chuor encountered two years ago were the fringes of opportunities
mixed with low-paying work and unforeseen demands on their time, their wallets
and their resolve.
What makes “Lost Boys of Sudan” an Oscar-worthy documentary is the way
the filmmakers approached their subjects: Rather than visiting Dut and Chuor
once they landed in the United States, we first see the teenagers at their
camp in Kenya, waiting anxiously to find out whether they’ve been picked for
the resettlement program in America. And rather than having Dut and Chuor talk
directly into the camera — or having a narrator describe their transition -
- “Lost Boys of Sudan” strings together powerful footage of Dut and Chuor
that lets their day-to-day lives tell their story.
In Kenya, Dut and Chuor lived in dusty huts without electricity. In
Houston, they’re surrounded by tall apartment buildings, grocery stores
stocked with deodorant soaps and hamburger outlets where people order from
their cars. In Kenya, Dut and Chuor lived with people who looked like them. In
Houston, the darkness of their skin becomes an issue as strangers (even
African Americans) remark how different they look. It’s all unnerving, but Dut
and Chuor try to make the best of their uncertain world.
From the standpoint of drama, “Lost Boys of Sudan” is gripping. We see
Dut and Chuor adjust for a year in the United States — and all the while,
we wonder if they’ll achieve their goals of good schooling and better work.
From the standpoint of humanizing Sudan’s continuing refugee problem, “Lost
Boys” is a gem. It doesn’t preach. It doesn’t prettify. It gives context and
background to a group of orphans named (ironically enough) after characters
from the Peter Pan children’s classic. (The Lost Boys are from a Christian and
animist area in southern Sudan that has been targeted by Muslim fighters from
the north.) As challenging as it might be in the United States for Dut and
Chuor, thousands of others still in Kenya and the Sudan would love to take
their place.
E-mail Jonathan Curiel at jcuriel@sfchronicle.com.