Tumult

In 1960, in Ethiopia, a thwarted coup d'etat was staged by members of an almost-invisible aristocratic elite. The revolt was quickly squashed by government spin doctors, not to mention military thugs, and monarch Haile Selassie, far from being overthrown, was whisked away to Brazil (eventually, in 1974, he was ousted by a junta). This film by Yemane Demissie offers a fictionalized narrative from the perspective of those who lived the coup while providing a compelling glimpse into the little-seen milieu of Ethiopian feudalism.

The story follows Yoseph, a charismatic young aristocrat who becomes a hunted fugitive, begging for asylum anywhere he can get it, and finally confronting the demons of his hated wealth and position. Shot in Southern California and with thrilling Ethiopian stock footage, in color and black and white, Tumult gets off to a slow start but by the end is one of the finest chronicles of political unrest in recent years, reminiscent of those Costa-Gavras films that make the hugeness of social upheaval intimate and immediate. Demissie lays down a complex mosaic of sensual landscape images and haunting indigenous music, a stunning backdrop to a subtle, powerful film. At the Museum of Fine Arts, December 3, 5, 11, and 12.

-- Peg Aloi