Genre Action

Papa Machete (2014)

Item: Papa Machete
Rating: 3.5
Author: Ross McLaren

★★★½ — Papa Machete (2014)

There are martial arts documentaries, and then there is Papa Machete. Released in 2014 and running to just eleven minutes, Jonathan David Kane's short film introduces most Western viewers to something they almost certainly have never encountered before: Tire Machet, the esoteric Haitian practice of machete fencing that traces its roots back centuries. It is a subject with genuine historical weight, given Haiti's unique place in the story of colonial resistance, and Kane finds his focus in one man, "Professor" Alfred Avril, one of the last known masters of the form. The film was produced through a collaboration between Borscht Corp., Coffee and Celluloid Productions, and Third Horizon, and it arrived on the short film circuit as a polished but modest piece of cultural documentation, the kind of work that tends to earn its reputation through word of mouth rather than wide release.

Kane's film sits comfortably alongside other documentaries that treat their subjects with quiet respect rather than spectacle. Fans of the form might recognise a similar spirit in Next Goal Wins, another documentary from the same year, or in Nom Tèw, another documentary reviewed here. Haiti itself, as a cultural and geographical setting, carries enormous resonance on screen, as anyone who has seen The Serpent and the Rainbow, a film also set in Haiti, will know. Alfred Avril is the film's only significant on-screen presence, and the camera treats him with the kind of unhurried attention that a subject like this deserves. He is an older man, clearly committed to passing on what he knows, and the discipline he embodies comes across as something living and purposeful rather than a curiosity to be observed from a safe distance. For a film of this length, that is no small achievement.

Short documentaries occupy an odd space in the film world. They can feel like extended trailers for a longer work that never quite materialised, or they can make a tight, focused case for their subject and leave you wanting more in the best possible way. At eleven minutes, Papa Machete had no room for padding, which is perhaps why every frame feels considered. Whether it leaves you satisfied or slightly frustrated will depend, probably, on how much the subject grabs you. For those who have spent time with action cinema, and this site has covered everything from The Raid 2 to some considerably less distinguished entries in the genre, the prospect of a martial art this historically charged and this visually arresting is likely to land very differently than it might for a general audience.

A-Z World Movie Tour Haiti I'm a huge fan of martial arts so learning about Tire Machét was really interesting. I never knew that Haiti was the only successful slave rebellion ever and that slaves armed with machetes pushed back Napoleon's forces. The soundtrack was brilliant and it was awe inspiring to see the students of Alfred Avril sparring with real machetes, complete with facial scars from past skirmishes. Quite informative, well executed, just too short

That point about the slave rebellion is one I keep coming back to. It is the kind of historical context that reframes everything you are watching, turning what might otherwise be an interesting niche curiosity into something with real stakes attached to it. For me, that background is exactly what elevates Papa Machete above a simple portrait of an ageing practitioner keeping a tradition alive. The machete here is not a prop or a symbol, it is a thread running directly back through Haitian history. My only wish is that Kane had been given the time, or the budget, to follow that thread further. Eleven minutes feels like the opening chapter of something that deserves a proper book.

Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 2014 | Watched: 2025-06-26

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