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All Movie Info
Directed By
Gini Reticker
Cast:
Janet Johnson Bryant, Etweda Cooper, Asatu Bah Kenneth, Vaiba Flomo, Leymah Gbowee, Etty Weah
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Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
November 19th, 2008
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'Pray the Devil Back to Hell' is a documentary about a group of remarkable women who sought to bring peace and change to the troubled nation of Liberia, one of only two African countries to remain independent during the age of colonialism, and founded as a settlement for freed American slaves in 1822.
Tensions arose between these blacks and the indigenous population, consisting of multiple tribes, and there was favoritism towards the descendants of former American slaves, which gave them a monopoly on power, which did not sit well with Liberia's other inhabitants, who rightly felt discriminated against. In 1980, Liberia descended into war, with a military coup against the government; in 1989, Charles Taylor overthrew president Samuel Doe, whose regime was characterized by corruption, egregious mismanagement, and overtly racist policies that deliberately excluded certain ethnic minorities from the political sphere. Taylor won an election in 1997, officially succeeding Doe as president, but spent most of his time dealing with determined insurgents, who controlled more than 60% of the country, including most of the areas with high volumes of valuable resources like iron ore, diamonds, and rubber.
Taylor's rule was not an improvement over Doe's; in fact, it was arguably worse, and while it suffered from many of the same problems, facts began to surface about Taylor's actions during the two periods of civil war, in which he and his forces committed heinous atrocities against civilians, including torture and mutilation, and the recruitment of child soldiers, which also happened in Sierra Leone when Taylor offered his support for the rebels there. Taylor was replaced by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; she became the first female leader of Liberia, and, more significantly, is Africa's first elected female head of state, a progressive neo-liberal dedicated to reform and equality. Eloquent and well-educated, she lived in the United States for a while before deciding to return to her homeland and help it recover after nearly a decade of devastating conflict, which ruined the economy and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Sirleaf is not the subject of this film, from director Gini Reticker, but the focus is instead on some of her loyal female supporters, who tirelessly campaign for her and then arrive in the capital of Monrovia to celebrate her victory. We learn the names of these extraordinary ladies, whom we have never heard of before, but who represent the way in which women are transforming African society, once they discover that they have a voice, and how to use it in order to challenge and even overturn senseless patriarchal traditions. Reticker relies on archival footage, surprisingly thorough and attentive American newspaper coverage, and personal testimonies of the women themselves.
Most encouraging of all is that the movement sparked by the efforts of these women undercuts longstanding ethnic and religious hostility, leading to an unlikely alliance between Christians and Muslims, both sects unite in pursuit of a common goal, praying for peace and organizing demonstrations. They use non-violent tactics and force warring factions to attend a cease-fire meeting in Ghana; when those negotiations grind to a halt, the women threaten to break an ancient taboo, stripping naked in front of the men, even surrounding the building and refusing to let anyone leave until an agreement was reached. Truly a profile in courage.
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