Humor and tragedy converge in the brilliant and disquieting On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
With the release of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, writer/director Rungano Nyoni’s first feature film since her 2017 indie darling, I Am Not a Witch, the Zambian born British filmmaker has once again proven her unique talent for depicting tribal traditions through a modern lens. Guinea Fowl is simultaneously tragic and comically disquieting, venturing in and out of surreality within its otherwise grounded character-driven narrative. Kudos to A24 and a few UK and European studios for producing and distributing Guinea Fowl, since the film is not an easy sell. Guinea Fowl should be seen; its tightly controlled narrative, powerful performances, and artistic risk-taking make it one of the first must-see films of the year.
Susan Chardy stars as Shula, a young woman who finds her uncle’s dead body on a remote street in a Zambian village one night. As ritual preparations begin for the uncle’s funeral, strained relationships within Shula’s community rise to the surface, revealing dark secrets and familial rifts. Amazingly, this is Chardy’s first role… ever. Her effortless embodiment of cultural pressures, and her naturally stoic handling of her character experiencing and exposing generational trauma, ritual absurdity, and, on the other side of the emotional spectrum, deep familial love, are incredibly impressive. From Nyoni’s filmmaking perspective, Shula is a conduit to explore cultural criticisms. By having Shula at the center of (literally) hundreds of community members and family, Nyoni can treat Shula as a reflective prism on which she can bounce off a variety of ideas, complaints, viewpoints, and observations. Interestingly, the young protagonist’s name in I Am Not a Witch is also Shula, signifying a consistent methodology by which Nyoni explores and combines her ethnic background with creative fiction. Guinea Fowl doesn’t chastise tribal rituals, but Nyoni doesn’t hold back in showing us the antiquated patriarchal nature of traditional Zambian communities, its horrific effects on (especially young) women, and the severe economic gaps that emerge. Guinea Fowl depicts the haves and the have-nots, the clash of progressive and conservative ethics, historical expectations versus personal freedoms, and the limits of a small rural village, all smashed together over the course of a few days.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl takes its title from the frumpy, loud African bird, and over the course of the story we understand its literal and metaphorical implications. Shula, and other characters to a lesser degree, go through personal transformations, and the “On Becoming” portion of the title becomes more resonant in the film’s finale, signifying a push for meaningful change inside the film’s story and outside in the real world. As with her previous work writing and directing I Am Not a Witch, Nyoni knows how to balance entertainment with messaging. Guinea Fowl has a lot of humorous moments (mostly involving opposing family dynamics, and Shula’s eccentric cousin, Nsansa), and just as many, if not more, tragic moments. What can feel more real than the unlikely combination of humor and tragedy? Guinea Fowl evokes an understanding of how history and the present, tradition and progression, young and old, can spontaneously arrive at an illuminating collision.
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On Becoming a Guinea Fowl opens in select theaters on Friday, March 7th, and wider release on Friday, March 21st.
