On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Written and directed by Rungano Nyoni
Starring Susan Chardy and Elizabeth Chisela
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour and 35 minutes
Available in theaters March 7

by Andrea Schmidt, Staff Writer

Rungano Nyoni’s 2017 feature film debut I am Not a Witch stunned as a surrealist and wickedly funny condemnation of patriarchal and colonial structures. Nyoni’s second feature film On Becoming a Guinea Fowl follows as another stunning damnation of the patriarchy. The film opens with protagonist Shula (Susan Chardy) driving home from a dinner party (wearing one of the coolest costumes I have seen in cinema in the longest time), when she happens upon the corpse of her uncle lying out on the road. Her muted reaction, as well as that of several other female cousins, points to the long line of victims the predatory man had left behind both inside and outside of the family.

Though not as tonally solid and engrossing as Witch, Guinea Fowl still maintains a strong tension among the surrealist, absurd, and dramatic elements. The soundscape and score in particular make it a must-see in the cinema. In addition to the strength of its lead, the film contains a number of emotionally devastating performances. Elizabeth Chisela absolutely steals early scenes as Shula’s cousin Nsansa. Her immature party-girl persona serves as a cover for the devastation of abuse. Critics have pointed out in particular the stunning portrayal of the uncle’s painfully young wife by actress Norah Mwansa. Bullied by the aunties and blamed for her husband’s callousness, the teenager already has seven children as a result of what one assumes was non-stop sexual abuse from the age of ten.

Without taking from the specificity of the setting or the characters, Nyoni aptly portrays the machinations families use to enable predators and alienate those who refuse to participate in the myth-making. Dr. Kelli Weston dissects this gendered labor and silencing in her masterclass of a review for the film: “This consequence of the core disparity in gendered labor poses even darker implications for victims of abuse. For they too are tasked, implicitly or otherwise, to sacrifice themselves at the altar of familial and communal security.” A scene where the aunts demand sympathy and comfort from Shula and Nsansa stands out as particularly excruciating to watch in its juxtaposition of comedic absurdity and patriarchal manipulation (thank you to Professor Jamal Batts, who curated the film for BlackStar and mentioned Weston’s review during the introduction for the screening).

The irony did not escape me that I saw this film on the final weekend of the US film awards season, from which Guinea Fowl has been conspicuously absent. It certainly has substantial production backing with BBC Film and A24 (I realize there might be politics around the amount of English used in the film in regards to its eligibility for an International Oscar nomination–which, of course, is a whole debate in and of itself). On Becoming a Guinea Fowl did show at Cannes (albeit disappointingly not in the main competition) among other major film festivals (including Philadelphia) and will see a limited release (already once delayed) on March 7th in the United States. Here is hoping Guinea Fowl continues to gain traction and Nyoni receives more of the recognition she greatly deserves.

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