“Gun runners” and “Love brewed in an African pot,” review

“Gun runners” and “Love brewed in an African pot,” review

Africa is one of the grossly misrepresented continents on the planet. Popular media showcase Africa as a place ridden with disease, poverty, war, and corruption. Although some of these allegations are true, there is a whole other story that is somehow not shared. The beautiful scenery, the breathtaking cultures, and the unique wildlife are a side of Africa you rarely get a glimpse off unless you have been on a safari. On the other hand, African movies have portrayed how it is like living in Africa. For my assignment, I will discuss two African films, “Gun runners” and “Love brewed in an African pot,” and how they influenced my perspective on the continent.

Gun Runners

The film “Gun runners” is a documentary film by Anjali Nayar based in Kenya. The movie revolves around two main characters, Julius Arile and Robert Matanda. The two are initially bandits always running for their lives from the police and people who want them dead. The two leave their life of crime behind when they realize they are good at running. They decide to try out marathon running where they encounter an entirely new world of corruption, jealousy, and other hardships. They are torn between chasing their dream and going back to their previous life where they had money and power.

Kenya is popularly known for its rampant corruption. Their leaders are known to take countless millions from citizens. Additionally, the country faces cases of starvation, where thousands die almost every year. However, Kenya is home to the most excellent marathon runners in the world. The film showcases how these marathon runners train hard in the Rift Valley highlands intending to achieve greatness and breaking world records. I got to understand how there are limited opportunities in Africa, and this is the main reason why many take to the life of crime.

Additionally, I found that Africa has a lot of marginalized regions that are underdeveloped and are home to a lot of people. These people struggle because of a lack of proper education and security. The cumulative effect of this neglect results in a life of crime where people decide to take arms to survive. In the film, the two bandits were cattle rustlers, which means that they raid villages and take their cattle.

The film changed my understanding of Africa by establishing an authentic connection between me as the viewer and the two main characters. I had always thought Africa as a place where life was harsh, but the film introduced me to a new perspective. The characters seemed to find a reason to smile even in the little things that go right. You can say the film helped me embrace the hardships that I have going on with my life. Additionally, I had always thought of Africa as a monolithic culture. However, the film shows that many cultures exist in Kenya alone. In Africa, people speak many different languages making it a remarkable place to explore since it is rich with different cultures.

I wish the film would have told us more about the tribes that lived in the Northern Kenya countryside, which is home to the two main characters. I would say there is rich knowledge about the pastoralist way of life that could be understood from that region. I also think there was little information about how the two characters spent their time as cattle rustlers since the film revolves mostly on the races after the characters met. All in all, the film was engaging, precise and it was well delivered.

Love brewed in an African pot

“Love brewed in the African pot” is a Ghanaian film by Kwaw Ansah. This satirical comedy is set in post-colonial Ghana, where there is a distinct way of life between the westernized Africans and those who are still traditional. The film revolves around a woman, Aba Appiah, the daughter of Kofi Appiah, a privileged retired civil servant. Aba falls in love with Joe Quansah, a simple mechanic who is not in the same social class as her. Conflict arises when her father steps in between the two and pushes for an arranged marriage. However, Aba and Joe go-ahead to have a traditional wedding where the father does not attend. Eventually, the marriage collapses through a series of circumstances that were neither their fault. Later in the movie, Joe seeks witchcraft for aid with his daughter.

Ghana and other West African countries are well known for practicing voodoo and magic in their traditions. These regions are marginalized, and people are very superstitious. This superstitious understanding can be a result of a lack of proper education and belief in traditional religions. In the film, Aba, the woman is seen to come from a boarding school where she received a proper education. However, Joe comes from a poor background, and he believes in magic. The film showcases how westernized Africans are quick to deny their heritage. Throughout the film, it is seen how myths of the African past triumph over the borrowed western culture.

This film changed my understanding of Africa by exploring how romance triumphs over logic. I was not aware of how deep the roots of African myths are. They explore the supernatural and give a general appreciation to the otherworldly experiences. In the film, Aba was supposed to have an Anglican wedding. Still, instead, she chooses to have a traditional wedding where we are introduced to cultural practices I was not aware existed. The film also starts out as a western comedy and later develops to become more of an oral narrative (Canby). An oral narrative is a traditional form of literature which is nostalgic and takes one back to when we sat around a fire and enjoyed stories told by our grandparents.

I wish the film had more myths about African heritage. I thought the knowledge about the origins of Africa’s culture was a bit superficial. In the movie, we are not told why Joe did not opt to seek treatment for his daughter in a proper hospital. He was more inclined to seek witchcraft for no particular reason. All in all, the film was particularly interesting and very cultural. Additionally, I wish there was more about the political vantage that led to the vast difference in class between the two main characters.

Over the years, films have been used to sell cultural ideas throughout the world. It is intriguing to observe a person from a different culture experiencing the same hardships as someone else in a different corner of the globe. Films tell us more about a region than mainstream media does. These two films helped me grow a lot of appreciation for Africa and the hardships that Africans endure. I feel there is a lot of undiscovered potential in Africa.