Film Fest fodder from Lesotho (a landlocked country encircled by So. Africa) and with 31 international awards to prove it. Writer/director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese has a strong, simple story to tell, but moves at such a glacial pace in an attempt at gravitas, he only proves Less is sometimes Less. The late Mary Twala is all but literal Earth-Mother to her threatened village, an 80-year-old holdout in an isolated lean-to home proscribed to be under water once a new dam brings ‘progress’ to the region. Worse, rising waters will flood the local burial grounds where generations of family remains lie. (Including umbilical cords & placentas.) And there’s more heartache as this respected elder awaits a son who is late to return for the traditional Christmas gatherings from his job in So. Africa. Ordered to leave her home by company officials and the town’s mayor, Twala defiantly raises her voice (in song, no less) to arouse the rest of the docile inhabitants of their rights. ‘We Shall Not Be Moved’ expected, but something to that effect in Sotho must do. This would be fine, even moving, especially as it benefits from majestic locations shot by gifted cinematographer Pierre de Villiers. But even the most perfect of visuals can’t hold the screen for as long as Mosese asks. We lose contact with the meaning of things. It’s unimaginable the film might speak to anyone not already sympathetic to its anti-progressive messaging. ‘Pave paradise put up a parking lot’ may be a real threat in Lesotho, but the film takes the sentiment for granted.
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