God Grew Tired of Us (PG, 2007)

A documentary about the young men known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, GOD GREW TIRED OF US tells the story of three who make their way from Africa to the United States. The movie offers some brief background on the two-decade-long civil war that produced the Lost Boys. In 2000, the U.S. State Department selected 3,800 of them for resettlement in America, bringing them over without their parents. The film shows the boys' early "orientation" process -- they notice the terrible food on the airplane ("Is that cheese? I can't tell"); in their first U.S. apartments, they learn how to use hot and cold water, electric lights, and toilets. Soon after their arrival in the United States, the film's three main subjects are split up, and the movie follows Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Blor's experiences in Pittsburgh and John Bul Dau's in Syracuse.

Some details seem worthy of more attention than the film grants: For example, the boys in Pittsburgh are instructed by the local police not to go shopping together, as their "large groups" are alarming merchants. While this suggests ignorance on the merchants' part, no one steps up for the Sudanese refugees. And so they speak for themselves, not only in the documentary, but also in large groups, organizing annual conventions of "Lost Boys" in order to keep track of one another and become active in policy and legal debates concerning their treatment in the United States and efforts to stop genocide in Africa. It's an inspirational film, even if it does feel simplistic at times. If nothing else, it will likely move viewers to learn more about the subject.