Leila Dzansi proves yet again that she is a woman of incredible story-writing, directing, and producing abilities in her latest movie, “Ties That Bind”. Set in the picturesque and rural areas of Kroboland, this story tells of the suffering of three women of relatively different backgrounds, and how their common pains bind their destinies together.
 |
| Omotola Ekeinde |
Adobea, played by Omotola, is a village woman who discontinued school due to poverty, got married and within those years of marriage has lost all seven children; some died in her womb, others died shortly after they had been born. This trauma has scarred her inevitably; she has an aura of sadness about her, and seems to be quite sick, coughing out blood regularly. Her mother-in-law accuses her of being a witch who eats her own children. The movie begins with her in preparation for the final days of her seventh pregnancy.
 |
| Ama K. Abebrese |
Kabuki (Ama K.) is a successful, good-looking doctor in what was supposed to be a happy relationship with Lucas (John Dumelo). He loves her very much and is willing to marry her. However, there is one problem: they cannot have children because their blood types do not match. This turns Buki into a bitter woman where her relationship is concerned. Torn by grief and disappointment, she is constantly waiting for her fiancé to become the typical “African man” who would go seek out another woman to have babies with, and actually jumps to hasty conclusions once and breaks off their relationship. To run away from the bitterness of her relationship, Buki takes a job as a doctor in a remote village in Kroboland. Here she is faced with a broken down, abandoned clinic that is haunted by a “ghost”.
 |
| Kimberley Elise |
Theresa (Kimberley Elise) is a University lecturer in the city who loves her job but is haunted by the consequences of a horrible past which drove her child away from her. Physically abused by her mother as she grew up, Theresa grew up marked with post-partum depression. However, despite her problem, she found a man who loved her truly, flaws and all, and married her. However, still struggling with the violence of her depression, things turned very bitter. She gave birth eventually; however, she was not the typical mother. Instead of her baby’s cries drawing motherly concern, it drew violent thoughts of hurting her own child. This scared her terribly, fearing she was becoming like her abusive mother. She then gave full custody of the child to her husband and went to seek for help. After treatment, fate found her in Africa, as a lecturer, and making two new long-lasting friends: Buki and Adobea, much later.
This movie is phenomenal, made so especially by very emotional scenes: Adobea is made to stand in a circle made up of her husband’s family, her husband (David Dontoh), a fetish priest (Fred Amugi), as the fetish solution is given to the short lives of all her children. The scene gets ‘weepingly’ emotional when she is forced to strip naked in front of all these different people as the fetish puts a herbal concoction in her private parts. The pain and humiliation of this is perfectly carried across by Omotola. The reality is made even more starkly painful when one realizes that these things still happen. The fetish, however, seems to get something right. He says she has bitterness in her which her children feed on. When they do, they die. He advises her to get rid of the bitterness. This bitterness turned out to be lung cancer, which she has ignorantly been suffering from all these years (discovered by modern doctors!).
Another scene which would captivate the heart of its audience was a scene where Buki’s neighbor (played by Ebbe Bassey) delivered a heartbreakingly truthful monologue. Her husband, a promiscuous drunkard, had contracted HIV. In search of a cure, he was misled by a fetish priest that he had to sleep with a virgin. He chose his very own five year old daughter who was knocked unconscious by the pain. The village lynch law smelt blood and dragged this shameful father out in the open to stone and burn him alive. Buki’s neighbor, his wife, was beside herself with grief, and rushed out to save her husband. However, before she left, she delivered an emotional to monologue to a very disapproving Buki (who believed the man deserved to die). She told her in simple painful truth that no matter what, he was still her husband and the father of her children, suffering from HIV. It was her duty as a wife to stand by him no matter what. And in accordance with these words, she knelt by her husband’s side and was stoned on his behalf.
After managing to save him from his harsh judges, with the help of Theresa, Adobea and a grudging Buki, there came the most emotional scene in the entire movie. In tears, and suffering from the pain of the stoning, she hit him continuously in her grief, asking him whys, reminding him of how she had stood by his side even when she found out he had HIV, only for him to copiously pour salt in her wounds and rape their own daughter. Spent emotions and grief later, she asked him to leave and take his HIV with him. This was only after she had gone through the ultimate sacrifice of risking her life to save his life. Talk about true fidelity! Theresa says most appropriately, “I learnt the meaning of courage today.”
The resolution of the movie was quite a happy ending for the three leading characters. Theresa, after futile efforts of trying to reach her daughter, getting a restraining order in the process, adopted a Sudanese refugee who happened to be the “ghost” in the clinic. In the glow of a new outlook on life, she has gathered the courage to return to the States and go all out to reach out and know her own child.
Adobea, sponsored by her friend, Buki, is going to get a life-saving surgery, to cure her of her lung cancer. After the surgery, she plans on going to nursing school to assist Buki in the clinic.
Buki, finally has the important talk with Lucas, and airs out her worries. Lucas assures her of his love and his willingness to be with her for life and adopt children. Their wedding day is the final scene.
This movie raises many issues that still exist in our society: a woman is a witch if she does not bear children, a man is allowed to have children with other women if his wife fails to give him a child, the power of fetishes; is it all bad?, child abuse, lynch law versus police, letting go of past pains and starting a new guilt-free life. Raising an issue, allows the bitterness to be aired out, and thinking and possibly, brainstorming about solutions are in the wing.
The movie, however, gets quite slow as the story progresses, slow enough to lose its viewers, before it picks up again eventually.It was interesting also to see Omotola and Ama K. speak in Krobo, and Twi!
“Ties That Bind” is to be premiered on the 30th of December at the Silverbird Cinema. It is, without a doubt, a must-see for all.
 |
| Screening of "Ties That Bind"in Toronto, Canada |
No comments:
Post a Comment