Saw this at the Rotterdam filmfestival (IFFR) 2023. This movie has much more depth than I could derive from it, due to plot lines that seemingly went dead (or were not clearly shown). Also, connections to local folklore went past me due to lack of knowledge of their culture. I thought as much during the screening, and it was confirmed during the Q&A that there indeed were good intentions that I missed for reasons mentioned before.
Two plot lines I seemed to have missed or misunderstood. (A) Geoffrey is forbidden to pick up his former job as a teacher. The pastor is very adamant about it, so goes on finding jobs for which he is not equipped. One would expect this forced job change when accused of having abused his pupils, but he served in prison for something else, namely murdering a (pregnant) woman. Still, some hints remain, as there was briefly mention of pupils having to drop their shorts. I thought at the time that Geoffrey was one of the victims, not the perpetrator, so I'm confused. (B) There is a lot of rage in Geoffrey, directed at Weru (with the white patch in his hair), so I connected Weru with said misuse. On the other hand, there were not enough connections in the story to support this theory.
All in all, this movie could have been improved with better storytelling, and with enlightening us Europeans about folklore and traditions. For example, the ogre seems meaningful in their culture, but I could only learn that during the Q&A. Better shown was Geoffrey's caged rage, being the main ingredient of the story. Still, I'm not sure what repeated bed wetting has to do with it, another confusing plot element to add to the mix of misunderstood things.
I scored 4 (good) out of 5 for the audience award after the screening, intending as encouragement and assuming that the film makers are planning to show it to a domestic audience who will not miss the points I missed. There is ample depth, and there is atmosphere.
