Film: Life, Above All
Year of production: 2010
UK Release date: 27th May 2011
Distributor: Peccadillo
Certificate: PG
Running time: 100 mins
Director: Oliver Schmitz
Starring: Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane, Harriet Lenabe, Lerato Mvelase, Tinah Mnumzana
Genre: Drama
Format: Cinema
Country of Production: South Africa
Language: Germany
Review by: Qasa Alom
Much has changed in the seventeen years since the Apartheid in South Africa ended and that is most certainly reflected in the country’s newest and arguably most powerful film. Replete with secrets, tension and unbearable sadness Oliver Schmitz latest picture, based on the international award winning novel ‘Chanda's Secrets’ by Allan Stratton, explores the country’s newest battle against segregation without holding back any punches.
Set in a small, sparse and dusty South African town where all the neighbours know each others business, Life, Above All centres around Chanda (Khomotso Manyaka), a bright and feisty young girl with wisdom and confidence that surpass her meagre 12 years. Although very keen to study hard and perhaps even one day attain a medical scholarship, Chanda faces the heavy burden of helping her widowed mother Lilian (Lerato Mvelase) look after the family, whilst also stopping her absent and drunken step-father from sporadically returning to steal their savings and fuel his vice.
The film opens with Chanda skipping school in order to buy a tiny coffin for the funeral of her newly born half-sister. Heartbroken and falling seriously ill Lilian is unable to take care of the family any more, which leads Chanda to re-prioritise her life and take on more responsibility for the wellbeing of her two infantile siblings.
Consequentially, the once studious Chanda becomes isolated from her peers and forms a strong bond with Esther (Keaobaka Makanyane), a charming but troubled orphan girl eschewed by the neighbourhood, who has had to turn to prostitution to support herself. The pair promise to always be friends, despite reproaches from Lilian that inevitably lead to tragic abandonment.
Though initially the tight-knit community support Lilians’ plight and invite her to continue her role helping out in the church in any way she can, rumours about her medical state begin to spread like wildfire and, soon enough, much like Esther, Chanda and her family are also shunned by the whole neighbourhood.
Even Mrs Tafa, Chanda’s next-door neighbour who had been helping to look after the two children, cannot alleviate the growing community resentment and convinces a sickly Lilian to leave for a short ‘vacation’ back to her old village to calm the situation.
Unable to take the strain of life without her mother, and with her two siblings constantly questioning her authority, Chanda yearns for knowledge of when their mother is going to return, leading to an epic journey of discovery that culminates in a realisation of one of South Africa’s biggest taboo topics…
The film benefits from dealing with delicate issues in a manner that retains global relevance. Thus despite many people in the West being in a more fortunate position than that of Chanda’s – dropping out of school, having an extremely sick mother, taking responsibility for raising younger siblings at a pre-teen age – the viewer is still able to not only sympathise but relate to the film and the central character’s plight. Moreover, the subsequent consequences in the film, such as isolation and being an outsider, are also common issues that people can engage with regardless of their background or connection to South Africa. Therefore, one of the film’s biggest strengths is fully immersing the viewer into the story to create a powerful emotional bond between spectator and characters.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of a talented cast, and though the performance of Mapaseka Mathebe, who plays the unruly younger sibling of Chanda steals some scenes, adding colour and depth, Khomotso Manyaka is completely magnetic in her portrayal of 12-year-old Chanda.
With the whole film ultimately revolving around her, Manyaka portrays a wide variety of emotions, from youthful exuberance to the coy flirtations of a first love, with aplomb and even revels in the more morose or serious moments, with a subtle facial expression or look in the eye betraying her vulnerable, yet determined character. However, it is in the chemistry with the other characters that she elevates herself and indeed the film to another level, packing the picture with an emotional punch.
The relationship with Lerato Mvelase, who plays her mother Lilian, is utterly moving, with their roles reversing as the film progresses. Then there is the tender bond with Esther, which effortlessly elicits all the nuances and complexities of a friendship between two people heading in different directions. Finally, though, it is when Chanda and Auntie Tata are on screen together that sparks really fly. Both scowl and frown their way through the 100 minute running time, with the tensions between the pair constantly bubbling away beneath the surface; sure enough, it finally culminates in an electric argument where the two characters provide vastly different mindsets of two generations in South African society.
That is not to say that the film is without its faults. Technical aspects are often quite laborious or out of synch with the natural ease of the film’s content. Sound and lighting in particular is used on more than one occasion to illustrate a certain atmosphere or mood; however, instead of enhancing the moment, they simply jar with the plot to create a scene that is simply excessive, reminding viewers that they are watching a film and obviously telling us what to feel. The technique of using stormy weather and rain to foreshadow tragic scenes is overused and detrimental.
Schmitz also has difficulty in achieving the right balance between light and shade; although the picture’s subject matter is very serious and quite ambitious for what it’s trying to achieve, the overriding messages are ladled on too thick without giving the viewer much of a break. This inevitably creates a rather stodgy film in parts that may even come across as quite didactically preachy.
Life, Above All is a grand, inspirational and very important picture for South Africa that has worldwide appeal. The characters are all more than likeable, which helps the viewer to engage with the story, and Schmitz also succeeds in portraying the contrast of mindsets in South Africa, from people who still shy away from progress and modernity, to those who are trying to give everybody a chance. Although, at times, the picture becomes rather instructive, the warmth and emotional power renders the film a huge success for South African cinema. QA
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