White Material (1:40)

I had hoped that the French White Material, the African coffee plantation drama, would be on par with Indochine, the Vietnamese rubber plantation soup opera. For me, White Material lost something in the translation. Make no mistake about it, Isabelle Huppert is excellent as Maria, the driving force holding the plantation together. And that is a uphill struggle as Maria and her family are caught in the crossfire between the army and rebel forces. The rebels in the area are mostly child soldiers. And the Vial family, like Mike Campbell (see Mugabe and the White African) are white Africans who are no longer welcome in this unnamed country.  I often remark, a movie is/is not my cup of tea. Although White Material did receive good reviews, it just wasn't my cup of coffee.