On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, 2024.
Written and Directed by Rungano Nyoni.
Starring Susan Chardy, Roy Chisha, Blessings Bhamjee, Henry B.J. Phiri, Doris Naulapwa, Elizabeth Chisela, Benson Mumba, Mary Mulabo, Norah Mwansa, Gillian Sakala, Carol Natasha Mwale, Loveness Nakwiza, Bwalya Chipampata, Esther Yobe, Sombo Kapole, Stella Njolomba, and Esther Singini.
SYNOPSIS:
On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family.
A devastating transition cuts to the core of writer/director Rungano Nyoni’s uncomfortably compelling and sometimes bleakly funny On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. It starts with one of the cousins of this Zambian family overheard on a recorded phone video coming forward regarding disturbing sexual abuse at the hands of her now-deceased Uncle Fred, with fond words of remembrance and prayer breaking through that narration from the traditional side of the family as a memorial service, almost as if abuse and accountability don’t matter. The majority of the family seems aware that his sexual misconduct (which included assaulting his nieces) was an open secret, but they want nothing of the sort mentioned. Immediate family members don’t even want the truth to be brought up that he died on the side of the road after visiting a brothel.
Even though this film primarily deals with cultural specificity (it is undeniably outrageous witnessing how Fred’s latest significant other is treated, someone who was roughly 12 when she birthed her first child for them, and that the family assumes is responsible for his death from not cooking enough or being traditional), this story is engaging in a conversation that pops up from time to time all over the world. Whether it be a family member or celebrity who dies, people suddenly overlook heinous behavior to celebrate their good qualities and characteristics. Perhaps that is the civil and most humanly decent thing to do, but it is unquestionably insulting to victims still carrying around and managing trauma from the abuser.
Centering on Shula (Susan Chardy), she exhibits no emotional reaction when finding her uncle dead on the side of the road while coming home from a fancy costume party. It’s also not long before she is scolded by some family members about her lack of emotion and her indifference toward the funeral. This is not a cold performance, though, as layers of nuanced emotion come through as she uncovers more details about Fred’s history of abuse. There is also the question of whether or not she knew or if any of this also happened to her and was blocked from her memory, which is something that is inevitably answered.
At times, these cousins use dark humor to cope with Fred’s attempted (usually successful) rapes, gradually breaking down the longer this messy funeral process continues. It’s a situation that becomes more infuriating by the minute, even if there are some aunties who, obviously, never wanted to see their nieces hurt. However, tradition rules here, even when dealing with a serial incestuous predator.
On that note, it’s also clever how the title, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, is woven into this devastating experience that appears culturally specific but is more universal than viewers might realize. Some moments and scenes sometimes drag on, building to an ending that is simultaneously bold and shattering yet underwhelming and incomplete. Shula is also the only character that feels fully formed, with palpable pain, compassion, and burning outrage inside Susan Chardy.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published October 22, 2024. Updated October 23, 2024.
