Brick Lane (2007)

I'd been working so hard at position papers and magazine articles that I'd forgotten about the beauty of narratives or how the power of fiction can have just as much force as non-fiction. And so I treated myself to watching a little storytelling, thanks to the nostalic film based on the book of the same name by Monica Ali, Brick Lane. The title doesn't suggest much in the way of how the story will unfold itself, except to allude to the recurring metaphor of finding one's belonging; whether among rice paddies or brick lanes...

It is the story of identities, made to search for because of migration. It is the story of resilience, analogised through the experiences of one family; it asks the question of whether we will ever unpack our bags? And answers it on the realise that we have been home all along.

The sub-plots voice the issues of early marriage, the entitlements of women and the girl-child, the challenges facing muslims immediately post 9/11. It is through the characters that we experience the pain of quixotic ambition, the sorrow in compensating for inadequacies and all matter of things that lack. It is through them, that we remember and in so doing, appreciate the simple joys and the grander realisations.


Tied beautifully by a soundtrack that elicits nostalgia and a script so poetic it leaves its words on our tongues, Brick Lane is one of those gems you carry away in your pocket. Because when you watch it you are reminded a little bit of where you've been and promised a little bit more about where you're going.


Director: Sarah Gavron
Critics Rating: *****

Reconciliation and Healing

On the eve of the 17th anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide, Alliance Francaise screened Anne Aghion's "In Rwanda We Say, the family that does not speak dies (2004), the second part of the documentary trilogy on the Gacaca (grass) justice in Rwanda.

Aghion delves into the process of community-based justice and the context within which 'justice' is negotiated, which in the Gacaca courts has been observed as being lenient in the interests of reintegration, comments Dr. Phil Clark, Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies and panelist to the plenary after the screening.

The film revolves around testimonies of feelings towards the victims, the genocidaires and the Gacaca process. Aghion does well to illustrate the incredulous feat of the two living side by side again after the genocide. She captures the resignation felt by those left without children, husbands, siblings, parents... to live again alongside their perpetrators.

after months of lying low like beasts in the rain...

we must get along with them because they outnumber us....

why don't they come for me? I have no one to look after, I am already dead....

if I had to talk to him, I'd ask him 'how did you get a taste for it? Are you sated?'

what kinds of questions are these? I am a mother with no more children and they ask me how I feel? These white people ask very strange questions...

The plenary afterwards brought out issues of Gacaca's efficacy; it allowed lower-level perpetrators to be brought to trial (which is wanting from international criminal justice) and it allowed Rwandans to tell and verify their stories which in the process reintegrated the victims as well into post-genocide Rwandan society. But the constant telling and re-opening of wounds has also caused a lot of trauma. And sentences are more often decided to be community service instead of imprisonment. Clark relays how such an informal process has received criticism from human rights groups believing the legal justice system to be the only means by which justice should be decided.

And the other paneilsts Hassan Omar, Commissioner, KNCHR and Dr. Mzalendo Kibunjia, Chairman, National Cohesion and Integration Commission were brought to question Kenya's own justice and reconciliation process in the wake of the ICC trials and the run-up to the 2012 elections.

Can a local tribunal answer to the crimes of the post-election violence? And for whose justice will we be pursuing?

flamenco flow

She were like a gypsy summoned to court - stylising what characterises flamenco to the crescendos and diminuendos of Ricardo Garcia's guitar. He - writes his own song as he runs his fingers in fortepiano and she taps her heels to his fevered plucks...

snippets (part two)

'Self-indulgent bullshit'.

So I attended the Slam Open Mic at Dass on the 18th February and to say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. I thought I remembered more meaningful poetry the last time I went. I thought I remembered more meaningful entertainment, through the use of music to accompany the poetry or floetry, the last time I went. But perhaps things have changed and the Slam Open Mic is an entirely different event from the Open Mics/Poetry Nites that also happen at Dass.

I say that there are several things to juggle which is what outdoes these anspiring poets;
1) They have to be entertaining which usually means that they will rely on storytelling, which in turn will focus on making humour out of current affairs which in effect will cheapen their 'poems',
2) They will want to be deep but in literally claiming and reclaiming to be deep will end up showing off about nothing or being self-indulgent and
3) They will try to rhyme or to do spoken word/floetry which may compromise the content of the poetry itself.

And so we left before finding out who won that round. I mean, 3 hours? (8pm to 11pm and it hadn't even finished) - it's a bit much.

snippets

 I suppose I'm still recollecting myself and my position on art events in Nairobi. So here are snippets of my experiences since the beginning of 2011.

I watched Clint Eastwood's 'Gran Torino' on the 2nd Jan and was genuinely surprised by the ending. Walt's bravado throughout the film almost bespoke of a grand showdown in the final scene. So it was reflective to show Walt's input through martyrdom instead of heroism (of the Hollywood kind). His sacrifice was so pure it was almost spiritual.

Part of my disruption in blogging was because I was moving house. The last few days of living in my old house (on a mattress on the floor with belongings yet to be packed into boxes), I watched 'Dances with Wolves', a film I was too young to remember.And there was something comforting about it. Perhaps it was John Barry's musical score. Perhaps it was the poetry of the narration. Or the story itself of new worlds taking over old worlds, or an appreciation of the land and the peoples of the land and the discovery of our place in it. Either way, it kept me from feeling sentimental about leaving my old house. It kept me preoccupied between going to work and packing my stuff.

So by February I was in a new apartment and with the prospect of being taken on as permanent staff at work... which didn't work out lol. But I'm still here and I'll stay until the end of my contract... wondering what the next step will be. Perhaps I won't renew my contract but finally write that script and shoot that movie...

I watch 'Black Swan' and find myself wanting at the end of it. The paranoia and reality checks throughout the film spoil the twist in the ending. You have bought into the inner turmoil already and so all you can do is wait for her to overcome it.

Alliance Francaise hosted a series of human rights films and forums in the second week of February. I watched 'Kikulacho' and 'Seeking Peace and Justice in Africa'. Kikulacho, short for Kikulacho Kimo nguoni mwako, (that which bites you is from you/within your clothes), ie. the bite within, tackles the question of corruption and corruption primarily in the form of land grabbing and the embezzlement of public funds. The allocation of lands following independence is discussed and high profile corruption cases such as the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals are also revealed. I applaud Rayani for his boldness in articulating these sad instances in our history but I also hoped he would be even braver or be allowed to be even braver and name names or go into such detail that there would be no need to name names. His tongue-in-cheek approach using animations is remindful of Michael Moore's style of criticism.

'Seeking Peace and Justice in Africa' once more brought the question of peace versus justice but also enlightened me as to the disconnect between the idealistic ambitions of the ICC and its practical limitations. For what it's worth, I hope it continues and I hope it receives much support.