In a nutshell, a compelling story about separation and grief. Much better than "Beaches"!
The setting of the desert presents a scene of ruin and desolation and that is the mood until a point of elevation after the climax of the movie, a storm. The former resort belonging to the Paradise Hotel chain in South Africa now buried in sand through natural desertification is a paradise lost. The allusion is a bit extreme for this film, but it does help to convey the awareness of death from the start of the story and the sense of hopelessness and doom borne by the surviving spouse (Spoon) and son (River) that greets the mother (Melody) when she arrives in the nick of time for the funeral. It contrasts with the mother's present-day lifestyle living in a new resort baking cakes and roasting meat in a luxury hotel.
The mother is portrayed admirably by Barbara Hershey, who carries the lead role for the cast of emerging actors. Her character is a chef who has worked her way up through the company from her days as a maid where she had raised her daughter (fictional village of Fairlands). Since leaving her grown daughter behind Fairlands, she has lost contact with her and therefore hardened and speaks tersely. She lives alone. However, she is a self- disciplined, hard-working and determined woman who is successful in her self-made career.
The situation is so intriguing and the reasons for it mysterious enough to entice and keep the viewer engaged. Melody is deeply wounded from the lack of response to her letters to her daughter but desperate to appear the funeral. A mystery is deftly laid out and resolved regarding this question. There are more mysteries to this plot, which are not resolved and that left me somewhat unsatisfied despite the unique setting, intriguing story and wonderful cinematography, direction and acting.
The boy River, whom Melody had known existed, appears to have behavioral problems and is immersed in some strange militarist boyhood fantasy, yet he is a leader among the other children. Clearly, there is neglect of this child who leads his band of little soldiers around in the sands all day mostly unattended. The state of the household seen when Melody arrives is quite telling. Yusef Davids carries the role of this boy well. River aggressively rejects his unknown grandmother as he acts out his emotions surrounding his mother's death in strange play. A grandchild-grandmother relationship takes shape by the conclusion of the story, though. The complete switch was too much for me to fathom, and the code behind his play not decoded. The child who, just hours before, would not tolerate the grandmother at all and made Melody want to cut and run suddenly becomes a nice kid after an hour or so of intimacy with her.
The hostile and lax attitude of the embittered and grieving washed-up father named Spoon is played effectively by John Kani. He does not care about anything. We learn he is a womanizer from the get-go. We can see that he is a cripple, without learning how he was crippled, who bets his hopes on singing and songwriting. At the climax of the movie we learn that he has stolen lyrics in a very despicable way, but that is not the only thing he did that inspires the wrath of Melody. He has kept Melody's letters to her daughter hidden without his wife knowing, likely in order to separate mother and daughter jealously keep her to himself. He has loved his wife and still loves his son, though, so he risks his life to find River during the severe sand storm. What happens to him at this point is clear but the lack of awareness and response from the other characters after the storm is over is disconcerting. I suppose this sort of personality was doomed, though.
Melody and River, on the other hand, grow as the sun and they emerge from the dust and the ruins of the derelict and destroyed hotel. They embrace life. River wants to see an ostrich egg hatch because he does not like how villagers have been stealing and consuming such eggs, and the story ends immediately after the storm as Melody and he find a batch of eggs and help them to hatch in an innovative manner and with the concerned surviving ostrich parent close by. Birds rise from the ashes, as does the boy who has transformed from beast to human.
The conclusion is still unsatisfying. Among other things, we do not necessarily understand why the daughter and her son had stayed with the no- good dad in this dying village buried in the desert, even if she felt she had no other family. We don't know anything about the reasons for or circumstances of the separation from the mother occurred, which leaves the plot stunted, in my opinion. We don't get a whisper about Melody's ex (the would-be grandfather) or the nature of that relationship. Above all, we do not know why Spoon's fate is ignored at the end. In sum, the movie lacks the depth to stand up to the heavy-handed symbolism.
All the same, it is a captivating story with an untypical way of addressing separation and grief, and a unique angle on characters and family in contemporary times.
The setting of the desert presents a scene of ruin and desolation and that is the mood until a point of elevation after the climax of the movie, a storm. The former resort belonging to the Paradise Hotel chain in South Africa now buried in sand through natural desertification is a paradise lost. The allusion is a bit extreme for this film, but it does help to convey the awareness of death from the start of the story and the sense of hopelessness and doom borne by the surviving spouse (Spoon) and son (River) that greets the mother (Melody) when she arrives in the nick of time for the funeral. It contrasts with the mother's present-day lifestyle living in a new resort baking cakes and roasting meat in a luxury hotel.
The mother is portrayed admirably by Barbara Hershey, who carries the lead role for the cast of emerging actors. Her character is a chef who has worked her way up through the company from her days as a maid where she had raised her daughter (fictional village of Fairlands). Since leaving her grown daughter behind Fairlands, she has lost contact with her and therefore hardened and speaks tersely. She lives alone. However, she is a self- disciplined, hard-working and determined woman who is successful in her self-made career.
The situation is so intriguing and the reasons for it mysterious enough to entice and keep the viewer engaged. Melody is deeply wounded from the lack of response to her letters to her daughter but desperate to appear the funeral. A mystery is deftly laid out and resolved regarding this question. There are more mysteries to this plot, which are not resolved and that left me somewhat unsatisfied despite the unique setting, intriguing story and wonderful cinematography, direction and acting.
The boy River, whom Melody had known existed, appears to have behavioral problems and is immersed in some strange militarist boyhood fantasy, yet he is a leader among the other children. Clearly, there is neglect of this child who leads his band of little soldiers around in the sands all day mostly unattended. The state of the household seen when Melody arrives is quite telling. Yusef Davids carries the role of this boy well. River aggressively rejects his unknown grandmother as he acts out his emotions surrounding his mother's death in strange play. A grandchild-grandmother relationship takes shape by the conclusion of the story, though. The complete switch was too much for me to fathom, and the code behind his play not decoded. The child who, just hours before, would not tolerate the grandmother at all and made Melody want to cut and run suddenly becomes a nice kid after an hour or so of intimacy with her.
The hostile and lax attitude of the embittered and grieving washed-up father named Spoon is played effectively by John Kani. He does not care about anything. We learn he is a womanizer from the get-go. We can see that he is a cripple, without learning how he was crippled, who bets his hopes on singing and songwriting. At the climax of the movie we learn that he has stolen lyrics in a very despicable way, but that is not the only thing he did that inspires the wrath of Melody. He has kept Melody's letters to her daughter hidden without his wife knowing, likely in order to separate mother and daughter jealously keep her to himself. He has loved his wife and still loves his son, though, so he risks his life to find River during the severe sand storm. What happens to him at this point is clear but the lack of awareness and response from the other characters after the storm is over is disconcerting. I suppose this sort of personality was doomed, though.
Melody and River, on the other hand, grow as the sun and they emerge from the dust and the ruins of the derelict and destroyed hotel. They embrace life. River wants to see an ostrich egg hatch because he does not like how villagers have been stealing and consuming such eggs, and the story ends immediately after the storm as Melody and he find a batch of eggs and help them to hatch in an innovative manner and with the concerned surviving ostrich parent close by. Birds rise from the ashes, as does the boy who has transformed from beast to human.
The conclusion is still unsatisfying. Among other things, we do not necessarily understand why the daughter and her son had stayed with the no- good dad in this dying village buried in the desert, even if she felt she had no other family. We don't know anything about the reasons for or circumstances of the separation from the mother occurred, which leaves the plot stunted, in my opinion. We don't get a whisper about Melody's ex (the would-be grandfather) or the nature of that relationship. Above all, we do not know why Spoon's fate is ignored at the end. In sum, the movie lacks the depth to stand up to the heavy-handed symbolism.
All the same, it is a captivating story with an untypical way of addressing separation and grief, and a unique angle on characters and family in contemporary times.
