AiM 2009: Killer Necklace/From a Whisper

“Rich girls only love poor boys in Indian movies. Are you Indian?” asks Jonah. At first glance, the plot of Killer Necklace looks straightforward enough: Boo wants to avoid being sucked into Jonah’s criminal network, preferring to study hard and gradually work his way out of poverty. But he’s in love with Noni, who’s got her eye on a golden necklace. From these simple beginnings, however, lies and betrayals abound, giving the film added depth: nothing is quite what it seems, and maybe Jonah’s amoral attitude really is the most pragmatic. At only 40 minutes, the film moves at a decent pace, contrasting the quiet of Noni’s expensive country home – and the sinister secrets therein – with the bustle of Boo’s slum, set to a hip-hop soundtrack. There’s a disappointingly wooden feel when everything finally comes to a head, but the film nonetheless leaves the viewer wanting more – within a small cast of characters there are clearly multiple stories waiting to be told. [Nine]

It takes us a while to get our bearings while watching From a Whisper, the debut feature of Kenyan filmmaker, Wanuri Kahiu. The film threads together the days leading up to the 1998 bombing of the United States embassy in Nairobi and the meeting, ten years later, of two characters whose lives were set reeling by the explosion. Indeed, the premise of the film is to explore the ability (or inability) of Tamari (Corine Anyango) and Abu (Ken Ambani) to deal with the event by keeping it in mind rather than forgetting about it. Kahiu’s patient telling of this story, the slow way that she reveals the connections between the characters, allows her to use images of the city and music (especially the original score by Erik Wainaina) to set the contemplative tone of the film. While Kahiu’s attention is obviously fixated on her homeland here, the array of aesthetic practices she employs shows her to be well versed on filmic styles from Europe, America, and beyond. And while there is certainly room for her to better develop her control of these, the film seems more than deserving of the five awards which it won at the 2009 African Movie Academy Awards, including best picture. [Tyler Parks]