SYNOPSICS
Le secret de Chanda (2010) is a Southern Sotho movie. Oliver Schmitz has directed this movie. Khomotso Manyaka,Keaobaka Makanyane,Harriet Lenabe,Lerato Mvelase are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2010. Le secret de Chanda (2010) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
In the dusty small town of Elandsdoorn, a South African township not far from Johannesburg, life is simple and serene. A prevailing sense of deep pride tightly bonds together the entire community - but beware to those who step out of line ... 12-year-old Chanda is a hardworking promising young student with a bright future, but her life changes dramatically when her baby sister unexpectedly dies. Heartbroken, Chanda's mother, Lillian, in turn becomes severely ill. Her stepfather drowns himself in alcohol, leaving the young girl to take care of her two smaller siblings. Meanwhile, the formerly friendly neighbors become increasingly distant and gossip spreads. "Auntie" Tafa does what she can to help by getting Lillian to leave town, but not even "Auntie" is immune to the cloud of fear filtering across Elandsdoorn. Suspecting that the community's irrational ostracism has to do with her mother's illness and the death of her baby sister, Chanda demands answers but is met with stubborn ...
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Le secret de Chanda (2010) Reviews
A heart touching story about a girls fight to keep her family together
Oliver Schmitz, the German director has a panache for telling socially relevant stories about South Africa. In the hey days of the apartheid years he made the classic and iconic Mapantsula which through its lead character Panic, a petty criminal, the international world was able to see how bad the system is through Panic's story of political consciousness been awaken by events happening around him. In the 90's he made a post apartheid film Hi-Jack stories;it did not fare that well but touched on lure of gangsterism, hijacking and criminal behavior in the new South Africa. It's very poignant in the post Madiba- post Mbeki years and in the year of the Zuma presidency that Schmitz tackles the thorny issue of the shame that is associated with HIV/AIDS and the burden of child headed families due to this epidemic. Although immediately one would like to associate Life,above all with Yesterday but Life above all is a cut above Yesterday .It feels more sincere, touching and less whimsical than Yesterday, although the films are both set in the rural areas, both use vernacular and deal with stigmatization. I think the choice to tell the story from the child's perspective in Life, Above All is refreshing and the film actually feels more contemporary than Yesterday. The child in question here is Khomotso Manyaka who plays Chanda; the eldest daughter in her family who has to act as a glue to hold the film and the family together as they go through trying times. Half the cast of the film have not appeared in anything before, and some of the cast are none actors ,so the performances are not always strong but they are always heart felt. Khomotso does a lot of heavy lifting and one hopes her career does not start and end here but keeps growing; for she is able to emote well and gives Chanda that naivety and tenacity at all the right moments. Then there's the evergreen Lerato Mvelase as Chanda's mother Lilian; Lerato gives Lilian that grace that a mother would have, although at times I felt she was a bit too young to have a child of Chandas age but her performance is that great that one easily overlooks that conceit. Then there's Harriet Lanabe as Mrs.Tafa; who if there was any justice in this world would be getting local awards for her performance in this role. She's brilliant; she inhibits this woman's character so well that one cannot distinguish between the character and the actor. There are plenty of acting talent in this film The film benefits for having evenly structured multi-stories were all the major characters have their journeys and we get to follow them to the end.So its not just about the messaging but there is a story that one can immerse themselves in.The powerful thing about this story is that it keeps bringing you back to our own reality and makes one ponder about one or two things as you are watching it. What I liked about Life, Above All is that it shows that shame factor actually does not help the situation. Shaming people and trying to put them down and ostracizing them does not sort the problem but just makes it bigger and this can be said not just for HIV/AIDS but for homosexuality,criminal behavior or any social or familial problem. It is through Chanda's uncompromising love that we see a way out of the virtuous cycle of shame and guilt.This movie ain't easy to watch but it's not a bleak movie at all. Shcmitz captures the tone of the rural life very well, from costume, to weather to iconography but above all he is able to capture the idea of a community. How communities work ,the good,the bad and the darn ugly of communities but above all what communities can do together to uplift and not just to tear down. Do yourself a favor and watch this one, it's a classic in the making, a story about us on the big screen catching it while its there.
Finally, a story about African woman!
Oliver Schmitz's Life, Above All is a very touching human drama. It is deeply affective, sad without being maudlin, heartbreaking without feeling phony, and hopeful for all the right reasons. It is a film from South Africa, about Africans, speaking Sotho (a bantu language spoken in South Africa) rather than simply having all the actors speak English. Most refreshingly, this is a film that focuses on women, African woman, not as women who stand behind men or behind White women. These African women are strong, well-drawn and, like the women of The Color Purple, are allowed to occupy the center of their own story. Based on the award-winning book "Chanda's Secret" by Allan Stratton, Life, Above All focuses on 12 year-old Chanda (Khomotso Manyaka), who is wise beyond her years and far more mature than the elders that surround her. She and her family live in the small community of Elandsdoorn, a South African village on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Life in the village is quiet, and peaceful despite the political unrest and guerrilla warfare just over the horizon. Chanda stands as the strong center of her family, which is coming apart under the weight of grief over the death of her younger sister. Chanda's mother Lillian (Lerato Mvelase) slips into a deep depression and her stepfather Jonah (Aubrey Poolo) chooses to waste himself away in bars and whore houses. Therefore it is left to Chanda to take charge of her mother and two younger siblings. Chanda's problems begin when her mother becomes ill. The neighbors immediately assume that the illness is caused by AIDS and grow paranoid and suspicious. This child is caring for a woman who has developed a plague soon after her daughter has died and they think it will destroy them all (it never occurs to them that the sickness may have come from Jonah). A friendly neighbor called Auntie Tafa (Harriet Lenabe) tries to help by urging Lillian to leave. But Chanda is too caring and too stubborn to give in. Chanda is what makes the film work. Played by first time actor Khmotso Manyaka, she is a force to be reckoned with. She is intelligent, undaunted and never stops asking questions. She has a view of the world that peers under the surface to see the truth that is being hidden. She is bold enough to ask tough questions and keep asking even when the adults would simply pat her on the head and send her in the other direction. There is a brilliant moment deep in the film when she takes her mother to a local doctor and focuses on his degrees hanging on the wall. Based on the framed documents - written in English, which the villagers cannot read - it is clear that this man isn't a doctor, merely a man who sells herbal placebos. Chanda is also willing to take chances. She refuses to move her mother out of the village, despite stern warning and is further bold enough to associate with a school friend who has run off to make money in prostitution and returns with AIDS. Chanda doesn't turn her back on the girl but invites her into the home as a kind of safe haven. What I like about Life Above All is that it raises a lot of difficult issues about fear and prejudice and does so through the eyes of a girl who is like no young person I have ever met. This isn't a precocious kid but a wise young girl who will, when she grows up, become a great humanitarian, a politician, a doctor, or an activist. My only reservation is that I am not sure I was completely sold on the ending in which Chanda is threatened by neighbors in the village who are angry over her decision to take people into her home who have AIDS. Their position is that having these people in their midst will curse the village and bring about their doom. The problem is that the movie allows the scene to develop into a passionate speech about tolerance, and the townspeople are sold on this speech. I don't believe that such prejudice can be undone simply by a passionate speech. To one or two people, maybe, but not to a mob of thirty. Still, that limitation aside, this is a very good drama, tightly told and with characters that we come to know and care about. *** (of four)
Initially Slack But Ultimately Deeply Moving Drama
It takes quite a while for the central conflict (and hence themes) to emerge in this story of a 12-year old African girl and her family. For a while, it seems to be one of those movies in which the protagonist is challenged by a series of apparently unrelated hardships -- misery for its own sake -- and hence it touches the viewer less than it might. Once the story takes shape, though, it becomes very powerful. It is absolutely worth experiencing the seemingly episodic first half to get to the film's payoff. Recommended, and highly so if you are interested (as I am) in the struggle between the rational, modern worldview and the religious. (7/10 for me, means B+, highly recommended).
A celebration of determination and courage
Set in Elandsdoorn, a rural township in the province of Mpumalanga, South Africa, director Oliver Schmitz has painted an indelible portrait of a twelve-year-old girl's resilience in the face of poverty, ignorance, and disease. The film, Life, Above All, was South Africa's entry in the Oscar's Best Foreign Film Category and appropriately received a ten-minute standing ovation at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Based on the 2004 novel "Chandra's Secrets" by Canadian author Allan Stratton with a screenplay by Dennis Foon, Life, Above All is not an easy film to watch but its rewards more than compensate. Schmitz walks a thin line between despair and uplift but never succumbs to easy answers, carving out a moving experience that neither condescends nor preaches. Chandra (Khomotso Manyaka), in a luminous performance by Manyaka, is only 12-years-old but must deal with problems most adults would have difficulty in handling. A brave and resourceful girl who is no longer a child but not yet a woman, Chandra is a bright student but is compelled to quit school after her new-born sister dies and her mother Lillian (Lerato Mvelase) falls ill with a disease that is unnamed until more than half the film is over. With purple lesions on her body, however, it is not hard to guess what the disease is, given the fact that there are over one million AIDS orphans in South Africa. Chandra not only has to care for her mother, but also look after her younger half-brother and sister Iris (Mapaseka Mathebe) and Soly (Thato Kgaladi) who desperately need guidance. Her step-father, more often drunk than not, is no help. Neither is her wealthy neighbor Mrs. Tafa (Harriet Manamela), a judgmental individual who thinks that Chandra's mother's illness is a result of dark forces that have invaded the community. The only friend Chandra has is another young orphan Esther (Keaobaka Makanyane). In a touching scene, the two promise to be best friends for life but their friendship is strained when Esther turns to prostitution to support herself, and is shunned by friends and neighbors. Chandra, however, stands up to the intolerant community and allows Esther to stay in her home after she is beaten by thugs. When Lillian's illness takes a turn for the worse, Mrs. Tafa takes her to a doctor who claims he can help victims of AIDS, but, through Chandra's alert questioning, is revealed to be a salesman of herbal remedies without medical credentials. As Chandra's mother becomes weaker, she is forced to leave home, bringing Chandra face to face with her biggest challenge. Life, Above All is not without its awkward moments, but, in its depiction of one young girl's realization of what is possible and who acts to make that possibility real, it is a celebration of determination and courage.
Will recommend.
I recommend reading the book ( Chanda's Secret) first to appreciate the full concept behind the movie. Some parts of the book was cut out which is a shame but understandable. I guess, he had to take into account the length of the movie and the type of movie he wanted to do i.e as a narrated film. However the director managed to include all the characters from the book without cutting some out - so kudos to him. I'm sure most of the actors were first-timers. But each held their part and did a good job. I Love how the characters spoke in their own language. The singing scenes were very effective.The music at the end was so powerful and touching - it really tied and summed up the movie perfectly. Brought me to tears. I really recommend reading the book first though before watching the movie because I think they both compliment each other. But I will recommend it. Great movie for mature young readers and over.