Teza

Has all the hallmarks of a career summation -- and early on it seems fated to collapse beneath the weight of its ambitions. Instead, it soars, thanks to Mr. Gerima’s bracingly direct storytelling.

Only the film's slow pace softens its powerful message.

Gerima's film stands as a richly expansive portrait of a man caught between an untenable exile and the terrible consequences of his homeland's violent past.

Ultimately rewards the viewer's patience with a potent sense of Ethiopian history and culture.