A provocative new drama from director Joachim Lafosse (Our Children, Private Lessons), The White Knights is an incisive look at the shocking true story ripped from the headlines involving French NGO’s with questionable intent visiting Chad under false pretenses.
Inspired by the controversial true story of Zoe’s Ark, The White Nights takes on the moral ambiguities of charity to those whom are in no position to refuse or question. Fictionalizing this international travesty, The White Knights begins in war-ravaged Chad with the arrival of French adoption-agency workers. Working as an NGO called Move for Kids, its members claim they will house, feed, and educate orphans in a safe compound. While seemingly acting nobly, it becomes clear that these NGO workers may have ulterior motives, while still somehow believing themselves to be altruistic. Lafosse is in top form here, presenting a series of fascinating details without judgement and without the need to build artificial milestones in the exposure of the information. The plot unfolds in what feels like accurately realistic time, leaving us to pick up the tragic pieces and try to make sense of the participants motives. A must-see.
DIRECTOR: Joachim Lafosse CAST: Vincent Lindon, Valérie Donzelli , Reda Kateb, Louise Bourgoin, Rougalta Bintou Saleh LANGUAGE: French COUNTRY: France/Belgium YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 112 min
