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Rafiki, 2018
Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) forms a friendship that quickly turns into something more serious with the lovely Ziki (Sheila Munyiva), the daughter of her father’s political rival. In addition to facing broader cultural backlash to being in a queer relationship, Kena must deal with her father’s disappointment that she’s spending time with “the enemy”.
This colorful, but at times intense, drama-romance is a simple but effective story of forbidden love.
If you talk queer films with any frequency, a common complaint is that so many of them tend to be downers. Perhaps the thing that I enjoyed most about this film was that it was able to portray the verbal, emotional, mental, and physical abuse that gay people encounter, while still maintaining a place for joy in its characters.
The film itself is a brilliant pop of color. In the happy scenes, the vibrant palette only reinforces what the characters are feeling. In the more down moments, the vivid hues make for a stark contrast: how can someone who practically glows in neon be so unhappy?
From the beginning, you know that the relationship between Kena and Ziki has a slim chance of survival. Homophobia is so deeply ingrained in the society around them---from casually homophobic remarks by men at cafes, to assertions at weekly church sermons that being gay is literally demonic possession--that they do not have the space or grace to be allowed to simply exist. Yet despite waiting for the other shoe to drop, the scenes between Kena and Ziki have a lightness to them that only highlights the absurdity of the bigotry they’re set to encounter.
The most interesting dynamic of the film, for me, was the way that the characters’ feelings about their relationship changed as the social pressure on them picks up. Initially, Ziki is carefree and chastises Kena for wanting to be cautious about when and where they show affection. But when Ziki’s friends and the neighbors begin to pick up on what’s happening between the two young women, Ziki is not ready for the consequences.
Mugastsia and Munyiva are engaging leads. I also enjoyed Jimmy Gathu as Kena’s surprisingly supportive father, and Patricia Amira as Ziki’s mother, a woman who believes that she can “fix” her daughter.
Aside from the amazing colors on display, this story doesn’t contain too many surprises. At the same time, it tells its story very well, and with just the right mix of realism and optimism.
Rafiki, 2018
Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) forms a friendship that quickly turns into something more serious with the lovely Ziki (Sheila Munyiva), the daughter of her father’s political rival. In addition to facing broader cultural backlash to being in a queer relationship, Kena must deal with her father’s disappointment that she’s spending time with “the enemy”.
This colorful, but at times intense, drama-romance is a simple but effective story of forbidden love.
If you talk queer films with any frequency, a common complaint is that so many of them tend to be downers. Perhaps the thing that I enjoyed most about this film was that it was able to portray the verbal, emotional, mental, and physical abuse that gay people encounter, while still maintaining a place for joy in its characters.
The film itself is a brilliant pop of color. In the happy scenes, the vibrant palette only reinforces what the characters are feeling. In the more down moments, the vivid hues make for a stark contrast: how can someone who practically glows in neon be so unhappy?
From the beginning, you know that the relationship between Kena and Ziki has a slim chance of survival. Homophobia is so deeply ingrained in the society around them---from casually homophobic remarks by men at cafes, to assertions at weekly church sermons that being gay is literally demonic possession--that they do not have the space or grace to be allowed to simply exist. Yet despite waiting for the other shoe to drop, the scenes between Kena and Ziki have a lightness to them that only highlights the absurdity of the bigotry they’re set to encounter.
The most interesting dynamic of the film, for me, was the way that the characters’ feelings about their relationship changed as the social pressure on them picks up. Initially, Ziki is carefree and chastises Kena for wanting to be cautious about when and where they show affection. But when Ziki’s friends and the neighbors begin to pick up on what’s happening between the two young women, Ziki is not ready for the consequences.
Mugastsia and Munyiva are engaging leads. I also enjoyed Jimmy Gathu as Kena’s surprisingly supportive father, and Patricia Amira as Ziki’s mother, a woman who believes that she can “fix” her daughter.
Aside from the amazing colors on display, this story doesn’t contain too many surprises. At the same time, it tells its story very well, and with just the right mix of realism and optimism.