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.
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.