God Grew Tired of Us

God Grew Tired Of Us gives us a sensitive, human portrayal of the incredible strife the people of southern Sudan endured as they fled northern Sudanese troops entering their villages and killing their people. The footage of the Sudanese conflict does not pull any punches--it is quite graphic and I was truly upset by the needless suffering so many countless people faced. The characters in the United Nations refugee camp are easy to empathize with; and the plot of the documentary unfolds at a good pace that held my interest every step of the way. This is an outstanding documentary about a very long war in Sudan that received not enough attention from the United States and other world powers.

The documentary starts off showing the footage of the conflict and then we soon zone into a United Nations refugee camp in Kenya. It is touching to see these young men, now referred to as "the lost boys of Sudan" because they had nothing and no families left, forming makeshift families with deep interpersonal bonds. These young men also dream of finding their relatives who they lost when they had to flee their Sudanese villages very abruptly. Specifically, we meet three young men: Panther, John and Daniel. These young men are selected to live new lives in the USA; and the documentary follows them as they journey to America. We see them use an electric light switch for the very first time and they marvel at the ability of a refrigerator to keep food cold or even frozen. They need to be told how to use the restroom instead of a latrine and they receive much kindness and patience from the charities that help them acclimate to life in America.

Over time (this documentary covers a period of a little more than three years), we see them start to thrive. They can get jobs, go to school, buy cars--but they do complain that juggling all those jobs can be rough! However, they never seem to feel sorry for themselves; rather they display enormous personal strength and I truly admire John, Panther and Daniel.

In addition, with the passage of time the three young men begin to experience ever increasing separation anxiety from their homeland and those they left behind. It moved me greatly to see these young men sending so much money back to the refugee camp in Kenya so that the refugees there could have a better quality of life. One young man, John, finds his parents and his determination to help them financially when they can't even afford clothing is truly exemplary. The moment when he is reunited with his mother at an airport in America after at least twelve years of separation is one of the most emotional I've ever witnessed.

The DVD extras include a commentary and there's a very well done "making of" featurette as well.

Overall, I highly recommend this well done documentary. It greatly enhanced my understanding of the Sudanese War and on a human level it is very moving indeed.

God Grew Tired of Us is not dissimilar to POV: Lost Boys of Sudan. Lost Boys came first as a cable special, but God Grew Tired of Us is superior in almost every way. There is much more about the boys' lives in Sudan and especially their harrowing journey to the refugee camps in neighboring countries. The desert-crossing trek was a thousand miles on foot with almost no food and little water. One adolescent described his role in the long esacpe from war as almost an undertaker of sorts. He dug holes for the infants who died of malnutrition while their brothers, themselves children, carried them to a safe haven that came too late.

The most inspiring aspect of the documentary is watching the young Sudanese men develop in the U.S. Despite their many psychological scars, they make the most out of each opportunity. Some work two jobs and go to school. All send money back to African refugee camps. Whereabouts of mothers and siblings are unknown. The fathers of Darfur are dead, victims of the ethnic cleansing which goes on to this very day.

God Grew Tired of Us is a wake-up call to all Americans. We have done a terrible job since World War II of figuring out when to intervene in world affairs and when to keep out. Genocide, by definition, calls for immediate action. It is a travesty that the words "never again" have become hollow with the deaths of two million in Rwanda and Darfur. There are graphic images in the documentary unsuitable for children under twelve, but this is a film that needs to be shown in every school and church in America.

God Grew Tired of Us is a documentary tracing the experience of three young men -- from their war-torn Sudanese village as "lost boys" to their escape trek through hundreds of miles of dangerous terrain to their decade-long 'waiting' in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp to their resettlement in the United States.

The story effectively shows the challenges facing these young men. While the US does offer opportunities, the culture here is quite different from sunlit Africa. People in the refugee camps think everyone in the US is rich and has an easy life - learning the truth can be depressing. Also, thousands of lost boys had banded together when their families were killed. They did everything together. But in the US - they are spread out across the country -- no longer close -- it can be quite lonely. Additionally, with very few Sudanese women here, the opportunity to marry and continue their culture is challenged.

But, in spite of all this, the film is not depressing. These amazing young men find a way to adapt - yet be true to their heritage.

I am a Presbyterian pastor who works with several Sudanese families and was therefore curious to see this film. I find that it is very accurate based on the experiences of those families with whom I am working. It is certainly a blight on modern civilizaiton that we would allow this kind of genocide.

This movie is so important to see and to share. Seeing how these young men struggled just to stay alive and to keep others around them alive shows such brilliant spirit. I loved seeing them learn to live as we do; living in an apartment, sleeping in a bed, using a toilet, buying groceries, using mass transit, etc. Their willingness to work as many jobs as the day would allow them, without complaint. I don't think I can ever think of Christmas the same again. This movie changed my life and my perspective.