Raisedon Baya
IN my last article I promised to do a review of Black Panther but there has been a lot of reviews of the film, too many reviews if you ask me. Honestly speaking, another review would not make any difference. Usually reviews are meant to give audiences ideas of what to expect from a film or work of art — a good review will encourage people to go out in their numbers and see the film or work of art while a bad review may discourage audience to go and see the film or work of art.
In the past two weeks Black Panther has had so much good reviews that nothing one says now will change anything. The verdict is out. Black Panther is a must see movie for all of Africa and beyond.
I went to see the film with my family. I will never forget the face of my daughter after the movie. It glowed with pride. She understood what the film was all about. I had actually planned to attend the Bulawayo premiere of the movie but unfortunately missed. Word in the streets is that people dressed up in their fancy African attires for the premier. The social media is awash with pictures of takes at the premier. And most of those that saw the film had nothing but words of praise for the superhero movie. They praised the acting. The story. The beautiful costume. Beautiful scenography. People literally raved about this movie.
I was one of those that came out screaming a lot of good things about the film. Because of the genre the film was able to get away with a lot of things. But most importantly it left us feeling good about ourselves, especially about being black. In simply terms it is a feel good film about a young king who has to defend his rich kingdom against an evil threatening his kingdom and its riches away. I loved how the different tribes seemed to live and share the land in harmony. But it was the whole philosophy around the film that took my breath away. The acting was effortless, superb. Our own Danai Gurira was in a class of her own as the army general. Lupita Nyong’o was also outstanding — a natural African beauty. Since her Oscar-winning performance in 12 Years a Slave Lupita has been amazing.