Johnny Mad Dog

From shooting a young boy for his basket of fruit to the gang rape of a woman caught in the middle of battle, Jean–Stephane Sauvaire’s bleak interpretation of child soldiers in war-torn Liberia will leave you feeling helpless at the situation so many of Africa’s lost children find themselves in.

The film centres around the title character (played with heartbreaking accuracy by Christopher Minie) a 15-year-old ‘freedom fighter’ who - along with the rest of his brainwashed peers - is seen to ravage and pillage his way through the devastation caused by decades of Civil War. Pitted against our anti-hero is Laokole, a young girl trying to keep her family together amidst the ceaseless chaos, but invariably finding herself caught up in Mad Dog’s world.

While there is no doubt that the distressing subject matter is one which needs to be shown to the world, and that both the story and acting is nothing short of remarkable, whether or not Sauvaire wants the audience to feel empathy towards these baby-faced killers remains unclear.