“Congo Boy” opens with a big setpiece set in a dance club: The camera follows two young men as they walk around searching for someone, the audience immediately thrown into a vibrant milieu of throbbing music and writhing bodies. Before they can settle in, some soldiers enter the club and start firing away, scaring patrons as well as the rapper on stage, who abandons his set. In the ensuing chaos, one of those two young men takes the stage, goaded on by his friend, and soon has the audience dancing to his melodies and words. The scene encapsulates what filmmaker Rafiki Fariala set out to make: an affecting musical drama about a star being born despite all the odds against him.
Our hero is Robert (Bradley Fiomona), a Congolese young man displaced by war into neighboring Central African Republic. (“Hero” in this case applies not only because he’s the lead of the film: All his actions are heroic.) Both his parents are in prison for reasons not specifically addressed, though it is implied it’s because of their status as illegal immigrants.
In their absence, Robert takes care of his four younger siblings, tending to all their practical and emotional needs; working many odd jobs to provide for his family, he’s always hustling. He’s also still in high school, hoping to qualify for medical school after graduation, to fulfill his father’s lost dream of becoming a doctor. The relationship between Robert and his siblings is poignantly rendered. “Congo Boy” balances the strife and heartache the family is feeling with the hard daily grind of procuring life’s essentials, as well as the times when they playfully enjoy each other’s company, tenderly taking care of each other’s needs.
