I Am Not A Witch
DVD - 2018
When eight-year-old Shula turns up alone and unannounced in a rural Zambian village, the locals are suspicious. A minor incident escalates to a full-blown witch trial, where she is found guilty and sentenced to life on a state-run witch camp. There, she is tethered to a long white ribbon and told that if she ever tries to run away, she will be transformed into a goat. As the days pass, Shula begins to settle into her new community, but a threat looms on the horizon. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision-whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom.
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Publisher:
[New York] : Film Movement, [2018]
Edition:
Widescreen.
Copyright Date:
©2018
Characteristics:
1 videodisc (93 min.) :,sound, color ;,12 cm
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Comment
Add a CommentI was not to happy about this film. It was not as good as I thought it would be.
If I were to sum up "I Am Not A Witch" in just 3 words - I'd say that those 3 words would probably be - "Bleak" "Despairing" (and, yes) "Boring" (Extremely - Boring).
I found that this amateurish production had, pretty close, to no entertainment value, whatsoever.
Its demented story clearly made blacks in Zambia, Africa look ignorant, foolish, and stupid.
One of the most annoying aspects of this film was how obvious it was that when the camera was aimed at the actors you could tell they were all very aware of it being there.
All-in-all - I'm completely convinced that they were making up all of this story's voodoo/witchcraft nonsense as they went along. Yep. It was really that bad.
So many levels being presented through a tapestry of film elements.
A story of oppositional forces playing out in impossible circumstances.
Best viewed from a 'fable' where characters represent more than their role.
The colors, sounds, costumes, locations add texture to the story as it unfolds.
Plenty of absurdity masquerading as reality as we strain to hear a young girl's voice.
If I were watching this in a Master's level women's studies course, I'd give it five stars but still be very troubled by the inevitable "mis-reading" of the content. For a general audience, there is so much room for misinterpretation. This won a BAFTA because it is a "satirical feminist fairy tale set in modern Zambia." My issues are that people may think that Black Africans are as backward, uncivilized and as superstitious as they are portrayed in this fantasy. I have no African ancestors, but the film gave me the same creepy feelings I get when I watch the white-male fantasy films of the 1950s and 1960s depicting Native Americas as savage, expendable creatures that should be wiped out so the good people may have their land.