"“It’s not one to watch if you’re in the mood for a laugh, A Screaming Man is hard-hitting, painful and at some points quite distressing.”"

As the ongoing Cannes film festival takes over the movie headlines, it’s an award-winner from last year’s ceremony which is set for its cinematic release. A Screaming Man, winner of the prestigious ‘Jury prize’ at the 2010 event, could have won another award – simply for having the most ironic film title. With very little dialogue throughout, and the lack of visible and physical emotion in main character Adam (Youssouf Djaoro), I think ‘a gentle, wounded man’ would have been a more apt title.

However, just the title alone adds to the brilliance of the feature – as it defies initial beliefs and leaves you feeling saddened and contemplative. It’s not one to watch if you’re in the mood for a laugh, A Screaming Man is hard-hitting, painful and at some points quite distressing.

It tells the story of the ageing Adam, who, alongside his wife, and son Abdel (Diouc Koma), is living amongst a turbulent and disorderly environment in war-torn Chad. Adam, a former swimming champion, known affectionately to those around him as ‘Champ’, works in his desired field – as a pool attendant in a hotel, alongside his 20-year-old son. However, with commotion and turmoil taking over the nation and subversively affecting the work-place, Adam is removed from his position, and his former job is given to his son. As imagined, this leads to disorientation and discontent in the family – highly unnecessary during a time when it’s best that those involved in the unwelcome civil war, stick together.

The film is solemn, and very little is said throughout. This has its positives and negatives. Due to the lack of dialogue the film focuses much on the facial expressions of the characters, which allows for the audience to make its own interpretation and to use their imagination to fill in the gaps. When we, the audience, are made to think, it’s when we become most imaginative and start over-analysing events and looking deeper into the film and interpreting it in our own way – which is generally a good thing.

However, the deficiency in the dialogue does also prevent the film from following a distinct direction. In a sense we need the words to help direct us to where the filmmaker intends us to be.

With the focus on the silent emotions of the characters, particularly that of Adam, the film relies heavily on the performance of its leading role, and Djaoro delivers magnificently. With a soft, sombre look about him, he manages to avoid (mostly) physically crying whilst still looking as though he is floods of tears on the inside. He has a vulnerability in his eyes and if his performance was not as strong, the film certainly wouldn’t have the deep impact that it provides.

It’s quite a chilling film, and difficult to say exactly why. It’s one that leaves you thinking about it for a while, trying to come to terms with it and get your head round exactly what you’ve seen.

It’s tranquil and it’s not a feature that allows for many words to be exchanged between those who have just seen it immediately after the film has finished – and following a silent walk back up the aisle, past the popcorn stand, through the main entrance and then out onto the street, it isn’t really until that point that you ask the obligatory question, “So, what did you think?”