In 2004, President Aristide had been ruling Haiti for over a decade since overthrowing the previous dictator and becoming the country's first democratically elected leader. However, Aristide had turned dictator himself, using the gangland Chimeres, or Ghosts, of the country's worst slum Cité Soliel as his illegal force to stay in power. The United Nations named the slum as the most dangerous place on Earth and it was certainly one of the poorest; this documentary follows two of the gang leaders, the Haitian 2Pac and Bily - who happen to be brothers - as the country undergoes another upheaval.
Unless you're part of the community that exists in poverty-stricken and violence-gripped places like Cité Soleil, the nearest you'll get to hearing about them is on the news, but here Danish documentrary maker Asgar Leth and his crew attempted to bring the situation to vivid life, gaining permission from two of the self-styled gangstas to follow them around. It could easily have been as confused as the political climate as Aristide's fall from power was played out, but Leth managed to make sense of it all, to the extent that he showed a human side to the turmoil.
2Pac had so named himself because of his aspirations to be a successful rapper, believing that seeing as how he lived the life of a gangsta, he could translate such experiences into music. One of the first images in the film is of him sitting in the darkness, musing over his precarious position and admitting he doesn't know which way his life is headed now. But as it's made clear that a large part of the young men in the slum end up shot dead, the future can't be too bright for him. As far as being a rapper goes, the music seems to give his lifestyle validation, glamourising what is actually a very desperate situation, and at a couple of points he telephones Wyclef Jean, who has made a success of himself without needing to shoot people, but gives this 2Pac moral support nonethelesss.
There's also support from French aid worker Lele, who does her best to help out the disadvantaged, but also provides a link between the brothers - in fact, a love triangle develops between them, with Lele eventually romantically hooking up with 2Pac. As this drama goes on, the bigger picture sees Aristide stepping down in a bloodless coup, but the violence is not far away despite the disarmament of the gangs. Before long, they have their guns again and the gang leaders, once the government's strong arm are now officially public enemies. It's as if no conflict, however petty, can be resolved without resort to violence, a way of life so ingrained that as the brothers observe in moments of clarity there is no hope for Haiti. Overall, Leth's film may be enlightening, with its "you are there" feeling, but it's also depressing as it appears to illustrate an insoluble problem.
