If you’re a fan of mellow conversation led family dramas, The Stranger might become your next favorite film. It features the unexpected return of a long lost relative after 30 years of traveling the world. On his return he finds a changed city and an unwelcoming family that are skeptical of his identity. What follows is a film that could take place on the stage. Shot mostly in a spacey urban Indian apartment, The Stranger focuses on the conversational duels between the returning outcast, Uncle Mitra, and his niece Anila and her husband. It swings between debates about civilization, religion, culture, identity and traveling the world. Plus there’s a heartwarming relationship between Uncle Mitra and his young grand-nephew, the only person that trusts him.
You might have a vision about a particular place you’ve never visited, but you have to go there to really see what it is like. In Djon Africa, Miguel dreams of meeting his father from Cape Verde, so he decides to seek him out by going there. His fantasies of a place covered with beautiful women and parties are tested by reality.
In the opening of Tinpis Run, Papa meets Naaki. Papa is driving one of his regular taxi routes across the highlands when he almost falls asleep at the wheel and crashes his car. Naaki pulls him out of the car and rushes him to hospital, saving him from certain death. In thanks, Papa promises Naaki his daughter’s hand in marriage (she refuses). However, despite his daughter’s refusal, Naaki convinces Papa to buy a new vehicle and get back in the taxi business to cement their new bond of friendship. Together, they drive around the country going along with whatever life throws at them, whether that’s gambling losses that force them to bond with local politician/criminals, highway robberies, and tribal warfare. Whatever misfortunes hit them, they’re treated with deadpan comedy instead of concern, much like the slapstick adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
PNG’s Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
Papa and Naaki’s unlikely friendship was the first thing that reminded me of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Papa is an old highland chief making a living through his taxi business whilst Naaki is a regular guy from the city. Whilst Papa still identifies with traditional PNG life, such as tribal rivalries and giving away his daughter’s hand in marriage, Naaki rejects them. He prefers the simple manly pleasures of life such as womanizing and life by the beach. Papa’s fervor for traditionalism matches Don Quixote’s dreams of being a chivalrous knight. Naaki, like Sancho Panza, is happy to go along with Papa just to get closer to his daughter and to make a living.
Colonialism’s lasting cycles of exploitation
Under the comedy, there’s a critique of the lasting effects of colonialism. In the early scenes of the movie, when Papa is looking for a new truck to restart his taxi business with Naaki, he finds a beat-up truck being sold by a white man. Papa, old enough to remember the neocolonialist rule of the country under Australia, calls the white man ‘master’ and doesn’t question his extortionate price. His unquestioned trust of the white man shows the lasting effect of colonialism’s promotion of white superiority.
But it’s not just the white man that tries to exploit the indigenous PNG citizens. We see a PNG citizen from the mainland trying to exploit PNG citizens on the islands (as well as Papa and Naaki). He tricks Papa and Naaki into taking their car on one of his boats to a nearby island to promote his campaign in the local elections. He uses their car as a symbol of the ‘civilization’ and technology he will bring to the island if the islanders vote for him. Just as the white man used his white status to rip off Papa, this PNG citizen uses his status as a city dweller to trick the islanders. It marks that the cycles of exploitation founded in colonialism didn’t end with independence.
What to Watch Next
If you’d like to watch another light road trip adventure, head to Bolivia to watch Cuestion de Fe. There’s also Ghana’s Bigman Wahalaif you want a big more laugh out loud humor.
Or if you’re looking for another film featuring characters letting life lead them where it wills, check out Sudanese film aKasha or Portugal/Cape Verde’s Djon Africa.
Lastly, for more films featuring tropical island life, go watch Jamaica’s Outdeh, and Hawaii’s August at Akiko’s. Whilst it’s not an island, Suriname’s Wan Pipelalso has that same laid back tropical island feel too, and is a great film from a country without much of a film industry.
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