Josette, an elderly woman in Cameroon wishes to reconnect with all of her children who have left the country for a better life. As she works on a home in the hopes that they will return to, she meets a young woman in the village who changes her life.
I’m not going to lie; I am very mixed on this film.
Without a doubt this is one of the best-looking films of the year with a stellar cast, headed by Josette Kwanya as the sad matriarch. If there is justice in the world she will be in the mix for various awards because rarely, have you ever seen a performance like this where every part of her being is invested in a role. It’s a stunning piece of acting.
At the same time this is a film that doesn’t go anywhere. Yes, it’s Josette drifting through life, but at the pacing is often glacial and it feels like not much is happening. Yes. Josette changes over time but it’s such a closed-up performance that even in the end when she finally, kind of changes expression, it isn’t quite enough. Don’t get me wrong I will die on the hill that the performance is one of the best I’ve seen all year, I’m just arguing it is undercut by the narrative and pacing.
I understand the film is based on the director’s mother’s sadness, and it portrays that beautifully, but it walks a fine line between being engaging and being an endurance test and it frequently steps over the wrong way.
That said this is truly one of the great cinematic achievements of the year, but it’s only going to be for the art house crowd.
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