NYFF: “I Only Rest in the Storm” is a Neocolonialist Epic
Ripples of colonialism exist in the fabric of our society today. As much as some people want to believe the past is in the past, the truth of the matter is that the whole world is full of open wounds. There are emotional, figurative, and literal chasms that were created by ancestors who came many generations before us. Pedro Pinho’s Cannes Film Festival-premiering I Only Rest in the Storm, now playing as part of the 2025 New York Film Festival, is an epic film that looks at these ripples, chasms, and wounds as they exist in an area of West Africa on the verge of significant change.
Sérgio (Sérgio Coragem) arrives in Guinea-Bissau, a metropolis in West Africa where he has accepted a job with a non-governmental organization (NGO). The first day at the NGO, he’s told that the man who had the job before him didn’t finish the task and now they’re in a time crunch. Sérgio’s role is to write an impact report on the proposed road to be built between the desert and forest areas. There’s wildlife, farms, and communities to consider, so Sérgio wants to be thorough. His work is sidetracked when he falls into a relationship of sorts with two best friends, Diára (Cleo Diára) and Gui (Jonathan Guilherme).
courtesy of NYFF
The elephant in the room is that I Only Rest in the Storm is three-and-a-half hours long. If you thought last year’s The Brutalist took up too much of your day, I Only Rest in the Storm might not be up your alley. It moves at a steady pace, with the completion of Sérgio’s report the only thing it’s really working toward. It’s an epic of sorts, but not one that spans immense time and space, at least not in the literal sense. However, the conversations between Sérgio and the people he meets create the sensation that time is unrestricted. That they can be discussing the current state of affairs while also speaking to the history of the land dating from hundreds of years ago. I Only Rest in the Storm is challenging because of its length, but it’s also a film that could go on forever. It’s easy to forget whether you’ve stumbled into a documentary or a narrative film. The movie feels so intimate and natural that it places the audience in the shoes of Sérgio, the outsider, the interloper here to observe, report, and make choices about a place he is not from.
Courtesy of NYFF
The word “neocolonialism” is often used in reference to I Only Rest in the Storm. It makes neocolonial a more relevant descriptor than colonialism because the word refers to the way powerful countries are still exerting force over colonized nations through economic, political, and cultural means. Colonialism is no longer territorial battles, but instead is enacted through NGOs. As one of the characters in the film discusses, even the best-intentioned aid groups are inherently a remnant of colonialism. It’s the old adage — the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That’s Sérgio’s essence. He wants to help, but the driving force behind his desire is a White Savior Complex. I Only Rest in the Storm explores this contradiction not only with Sérgio, but with the larger project he’s working on. There’s so much happening in the film when it comes to capitalism, environmentalism, racism, and more, but the conversations about these topics never feel shoehorned in. The reality is that life begins at the intersection of all these forces, and decisions we make on a daily basis are influenced, knowingly and unknowingly, by these aspects of our society.
“What disgusts me most are the good men.” This staggering line goes back to the adage about hell and good intentions. What’s worse? The outwardly evil or those who think they’re doing good, but are actually inflicting harm? I Only Rest in the Storm is an epic deconstruction of the effects of neocolonialism as they are today on the global scale, as well as how these perceptions and beliefs arise in the smallness of a relationship between two people.
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