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Veve (Kenya) – Corruption and Extortion in Kenyan Politics

Veve Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Drugs, corruption, and extra-marital affairs feature in this Kenyan thriller centred around a macho politician. If you’re looking for excitement, danger, and a token white guy, this film is for you. Check it out here on Netflix.

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Why Watch Veve?

To meet one of Kenya’s ‘Big Men’
Learn what Veve is (known elsewhere as Khat)
For a token white guy
See how to defeat unions and oppress farmers

The Breakdown

People picking trees, leaves filling sacks, sacks thrown onto trucks, money changing hands… Veve starts with some quick cuts showing the distribution of veve from the trees it grows on to Kenya’s cities. Along the way it passes through a bunch of middle men and check points. You’ll also see money changing hands a few times along the way, but who does the money end up with?

The next scene reveals the prime candidate behind the drug-trafficking. Meet Amos, a local member of parliament campaigning to become governor of the region. Judged on first impressions, he’s a friendly husband who is popular in the region he is campaigning to govern. However, there’s more to Amos that meets the eye.

Simply put, he’s the prototype of the macho African ‘big man’ politician.

Firstly, you’ll see how he uses intimidation to try and guarantee votes. He tries to extort local businessmen as well as threaten farmers to vote for him. Secondly, you’ll witness his machismo. The director intentionally shows him criticise his wife for buying scented body lotion and chide his secretary for playing kid’s puzzles. Just in case that’s too subtle, he’s also cheating on his wife. He’s not a nice man.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

By giving Amos the characteristics of the ‘big man’ politician the director uses Amos to critique the power hungry men in Kenyan politics. It’s a subtle warning carried in a thrilling film well worth watching.

If you want to see more African ‘big men’ on screen, check out Last King of Scotland, a political thriller with Forrest Whitaker playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Or if you want to see African films with more violence and corruption, check out Beasts of No Nation featuring kid soldiers in an unnamed African country. You can also check out the living perpetrators of the Liberian Civil War in Fragment 53.

Layla Fourie (South Africa) – How Long Can You Hold a Lie?

Layla Fourie Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Up for a slow-burning thriller with racial undertones? Here’s Layla Fourie, a young single mum in South Africa trying to earn an honest living. Unfortunately for her, an accident may derail all hopes of a normal life.

Why Watch Layla Fourie?

You like a good slow burning thriller
For the excellent acting of Layla’s son!
To hear one of the best (and simplest) interview questions
To continue exploring South African film (check out Tsotsi and District 9 first)

The Breakdown

Layla Fourie starts with what sounds like a doctor quizzing a woman about her health. Does she drink alcohol? Sometimes after work. Has she driven under the influence? Strange question for a doctor, but no. As the person asks her another question (has she ever lied?) the camera shows a lie test followed by a black hand tied to a pulse detector. It’s all part of a job interview, but it seems more like an interrogation. Luckily for Layla Fourie, she’s all lie-free.

However, at night the first piece of foreshadowing spells trouble: a car crash outside Layla’s apartment. The next night, whilst driving in the early hours of the morning with her young son, Layla is lost. She is obviously disorientated, she has to stop to look at a map and keeps flicking her headlights on and off (which doesn’t help clear up the darkness of the night). A few minutes later her son wakes up from a slumber and distracts her enough to crash into a man whose car has broken down.

Now it’s Layla’s time to lie. She becomes more suspicious of everyone and much less assured. Can she get away with what she’s done or will she be found out?

Conclusion

Whilst some of the coincidences seem a little bit too contrived, the film does keep up the tension for a lot of the film. If you’re into thrillers, especially those that delve into racism, then this film might just be for you.

The Life of Jesus (La Vie De Jesus)

The Life of Jesus Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

This is a film for those who are used to art-house films. Some parts are deliberately slow to emphasise the tedium of small town life in France and will put off some viewers. However, there is a lot to like about this film. It has some great acting, an ominous build up of tension, and some moments that would not be out of place in Napoleon Dyanmite. Above all, it is a gritty portrayal of the hopelessness of life in rural France, where there are no prospects or ambition. Think of it as the rural anti-thesis of La Haine.

Why Watch The Life of Jesus?

You want an insight into life in a small provincial French town including, but not limited to:
- Racism: “Are we going to beat up that Arab soon?”
- Brass Bands, including an overly enthusiastic conductor
- Sex and rape: “it was just a bit of fun”

The Breakdown

The first scene shows Freddy riding his motorbike through the French countryside. The road is empty, there are no cars. The background is full of rolling dull green hills set under a bleak grey sky. The colours revolve around a palette of greys to make it seem less appealing. Freddy rides into town and crashes off his bike as he tries to stop it outside a restaurant. He walks in and greets his mum who is watching TV. Life in this town is dull!

Freddy is ashamed to be epileptic. At first, we are sympathetic, however as the film progresses, our sympathy disappears. After one appointment, he throws off the brain scanner and runs out of the hospital. He then speeds back home on his bike without a shirt on, and for the second time crashes as he tries to stop. Straight after the crash, he runs to find his girlfriend for sexual intercourse. It is like he is trying to compensate for his epilepsy by affirming his manliness/machismo.

Freddy is also unemployed and supposedly looking for a job. However, he spends all of his time hanging out with his mates who are also unemployed. To combat their lack of ambition and prospects, they all ride around town together looking for trouble. They need some way of asserting their machismo to compensate for their lack of respect in the town. Unfortunately one of their outlets is racism, and the unlucky guy is an Arab who takes a stalker-like liking to Freddy’s girlfriend.

Conclusion

The Life of Jesus is a no-frills look at life in a remote French village for young men. The lack of dialogue and dulled colours matches the lack of things to do in the area. Although it lacks commercial appeal, the film is a great depiction of stifled adolescent lives. People who push their troubles onto others.

Talvar (Guilty)

Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Not all Indian films are musicals! Talvar is an easy to watch and clever film from Meghna Gulzar which lacks the music and dancing of most Bollywood films. This one is mostly crime, with a touch of humour.

Why Watch Talvar?

What!? You haven’t seen any Indian films yet?
You like a good ‘whodunnit’ film.
Is this a contemporary take on Kurosawa’s Rashomon?
You can see a future in criminology.

The film starts in a special event, hosted by the Indian Central Department of Investigations (CDI). We are introduced to Ashwin, a lawyer who likes to play games on his mobile phone and carry out detective work at a local street food vendor. These things make him ‘normal’. He stops to look at one of the photos of the crime scene… and cut. [The discovery of the murder scene is re-enacted].

Here’s a few film tributes to look out for:

The Paparazzi who swarm the crime scene is shot just like they are shot in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. The camera moves with them and gets very close to the victims or protagonists they are chasing as if we are one of the paparazzi.
The vigil for the victim is cut in between reports from the news questioning who committed the crime. The way the news reports and snappy interviews with the public are cut around the candle-lit vigil reminded me of Gone Girl. Count Gulzar as a fan of David Fincher.
Those multiple murder narratives are inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon. (A Japanese classic which you must watch if you haven’t already).

Otherwise listen out for the character’s seamless transitions from speaking Hindi to English in the same sentence. And watch out for the ‘water-container’ shot – a beauty!

In all, Talvar is worth a watch. An entertaining film with an clever message.

100

Zero Point – Your Prototypical High School Movie from Estonia

Zero Point Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you know your John Hughes from your Richard Linklater, or your Stephen King from Stranger Things, this is the film for you. Zero Point is your classic high school film. There’s plenty of drama and enough gossip and bullying to keep you entertained throughout. It’s perfect for fans Dazed and Confused, Carrie, or Sixteen Candles.

From: Estonia, Europe
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Prime, YouTube Rent
Next: Thelma, Bad Genius, Kids Return