Vuta Nkuvute
Review by Nassir Refai
The opening sentence to Adam Shafi's award-winning novel reads "Yasmine was married off, soon after having her first period". This and the many other themes sprinkled throughout the book, depicts the author's unwavering stance on socio-cultural and even political affairs he experienced in his lifetime, and some, even up to this day.
Less than two decades later, an ambitious young film director and lecturer, Amil Shivji, adapts this narration into film. Amil hails from Tanzania mainland, Morogoro to be exact, and has had interests in literature ever since he read Shafi’s period novel. As luck would have it, he later met his idol and received his blessings for adapting the book. Now, Vuta Nkuvute has been accepted for submission to the Oscars, officially making it Tanzania’s second submission in over two decades.
"Vuta Nkuvute", Swahili for 'Tug of War' is a 2021 Tanzanian film set against the backdrop of colonial-era Zanzibar in the 1950s. The movie is starred by Gudrun Columbus Mwanyika who plays Denge, a young revolutionary and patriotic native Zanzibari, and Ikhlas Gafur Vora who plays Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari with rebellious habits wishing to be free from societal ties, particularly those from her family. The two cross paths in a period when social classes governed by race were prevalent. The 1950s was also a time when Zanzibar initiated secret movements, to free herself from the British Colonial regime. This was a dark period for African folks, characterized by assassinations, social inequality and unrest.
Though films in general have a harder time adapting plots in their entirety from their source material, down to the tiniest details, Vuta Nkuvute managed to pack vital themes like social inequality and love in only one hour and a half. The costuming and architecture used in the movie did a phenomenal job in replicating the period setting and eliciting a nostalgic feeling/taste of home. (I should know this, I'm Zanzibari).
But just like any good piece of work, there are quite a few things that could be improved. The pacing of some scenes bothered me a bit, as they felt dragged out for too long, too often. The film's main score was also overused in many instances. Though character motivations were well explained and shown in the littlest of times, Denge's backstory should have been explored. We observe that he is a strong-willed youth with bad smoking habits, a sign he is still troubled by his youth. But the character did little to show us what really drives him. Moreover, Denge's dialect and body language seems a bit off as it fails to capture crucial emotions especially positive ones.
Vuta Nkuvute tries its utmost to portray Zanzibar and its people, and the best way it does this is through Swahili, the most spoken local language in Africa. But Swahili isn't just a language, it's also a culture shared by Africans in the East African Coast. This can be seen in the costume design, world building, streets, and in particular, homes that reflect the natives' lives in the isles. Cast members have been perfectly sought and do their best to represent the Zanzibaris' culture.
What I enjoyed the most about this Swahili-adapted film is that the jokes really land well. Vuta Nkuvute's side characters like Mambo, really shine here and ensure that joke deliveries were on point. The themes of colonial regimes, racism, family, love, and even patriotism are greatly explored in a fresh-take on the actual lives of the Zanzibaris during the pre-independence period. In the end, the film left me wanting to see more of the narrative and the world building of the Zanzibari culture on the silver screen. Sure, there were some few gaps here and there, but most can be attributed to the movie having a low budget, possibly due to lack of funding. I would love to experience more of the period setting, but perhaps with a higher budget so the production team can deliver and satisfy my yearning for Zanzibar, my hometown.