Some will dismiss Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki as derivative simply because they refuse to see what makes it so special. They’ll mention its Romeo and Juliet parallel as far as having the children of opposing political candidates fall in love. They’ll compare it to generic love stories—and generic gay love stories—because that’s what it is at its core. And when the subject of prejudice and violence towards these young lovers arises, they won’t shy from deeming it already treaded territory. What such reductive takes ignore, however, is that this isn’t just a gay love story between two women who should be diametrically opposed to one another due to their fathers’ ambitions. The fact it takes place and was shot in Nairobi, Kenya makes it so much more.
This truth isn’t reliant on the political ramifications spawned upon its Cannes release either—although...
This truth isn’t reliant on the political ramifications spawned upon its Cannes release either—although...
- 4/16/2019
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
At a time when Greg Berlanti’s “Love, Simon” is belatedly bringing the subject of adolescent homosexual desire to the mall-movie crowd, along comes “Rafiki” to remind us that Lgbt narratives in the mainstream are not to be taken for granted. Many international viewers would identify nothing especially subversive in Kenyan writer-director Wanuri Kahiu’s pure-hearted, candy-colored tale of first love blooming between two teenage girls in the rough streets of Nairobi. Yet at home, where homosexuality remains a criminal offense, “Rafiki” has been slapped with a ban for its positive representation — a state of affairs that makes this lively, brightly performed film impossible not to celebrate, even as its decidedly conventional script skimps on richer dramatic opportunities.
Even without the sympathetic controversy engendered by the ban, this Cannes Un Certain Regard entry would be a shoo-in for the Lgbt festival circuit and distribution market, in which African queer films...
Even without the sympathetic controversy engendered by the ban, this Cannes Un Certain Regard entry would be a shoo-in for the Lgbt festival circuit and distribution market, in which African queer films...
- 5/10/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
In “Rafiki,” a pair of young women in a small town fall in love, then face the repercussions of an oppressive community unwilling to permit their romance. The star-crossed plight of Kena (Samantha Muatsia) and Zika (Sheila Munyiva) is familiar, but it’s never been done in Kenya, and that imbues this slight, endearing feature with a progressive context. Banned in its native country ahead of its Cannes premiere, Wanuri Kahiu’s sophomore feature is just good enough to give its modest intentions a historic purpose, bringing fresh context to an old formula while hitting the expected emotional beats.
At a concise 82 minutes, “Rafiki” uses a traditional narrative to play up the textures of its setting. Based on the short story “Jambala Tree,” the movie lingers in the small, dusty village where Kena, a genial woman with a determined gaze, cruises around town on her skateboard. She spends most of...
At a concise 82 minutes, “Rafiki” uses a traditional narrative to play up the textures of its setting. Based on the short story “Jambala Tree,” the movie lingers in the small, dusty village where Kena, a genial woman with a determined gaze, cruises around town on her skateboard. She spends most of...
- 5/9/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
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