Directed by Thomas Gumede and starring Natasha Thahane, Wright Ngubeni, Busisiwe Mtshali, Thabo Malema and Kenneth Nkosi, Kedibone is a South African drama that follows a young aspiring actress starting her journey at university. Set against the backdrop of Soweto, the CBD and the Joburg suburbs, it touches on challenges that are a reality for many South African women. Touches, being the operative word.
The cast of Kedibone does an outstanding job of making sure they portray the emotion they want you to feel. Unfortunately, they all play a two-note song at most as neither character evolves. Are they good actors? Absolutely. Unfortunately, they are poorly written. The one character that gets it the worst is Kedibone. She suffers from perfect character syndrome as she is portrayed as almost angelic. A flawless character for all intents and purposes, her mistakes are treated as little fumbles that she never learns anything from. Seriously, Kedibone could blow a hole in the moon and everyone could go about their lives as if nothing happened – including her.
The movie has a couple of interwoven storylines. These could have been used to bring about more dimension to the overall story. Unfortunately, they don’t as they are either left alone with no actual conclusion or are stubbed with Kedibone‘s perfect character complexity. The worst include violence and a violation with little to no resolution. For this reason, there should have been some sort of content warning at the beginning of the film.
And the Oscar should go to…
Wright Ngubeni and Busisiwe Mtshali truly drive the emotion of the story. They sketch intense characters of Tebogo, Kedibone‘s boyfriend, and Gheminah, her best friend, respectively. Authentic in their portrayal of their characters, they make you root for them even though they are the supporting cast. They bring you into the severity, gentleness and delightful situations that are relatable. Looking forward to seeing more of these two on all my screens.
The cinematography used in Kedibone is stellar and Lance Gewer did a top-tier job. The way he interchanges the tilt and over-the-shoulder shots to portray hierarchy and class, lets you know where you are and the characters relate to it. The close-up shots in Kedibone are the bread and butter of the movie. Gewer added some peanut butter and jam to that butter when he used it in conjunction with high and low angles. The DOP makes the movie intriguing to watch and makes you sit at the edge of your seat at key moments as you anticipate the next move.
Kedibone is a fast-paced movie that goes somewhere. In the end, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions that are somewhat bothersome.
You can catch Kedibone on Netflix for your viewing pleasure.
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