By Mark Fields
Movie Memoir Depicts African Colonialism Through Child’s Eyes
History, they say, is written by the victors. But what if there are no victors. Then, history gets told by those who survive.
Don’t Let Go to the Dogs Tonight, set in 1980 Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), is such a story. With the action placed mostly on a white family’s farm during the time of the Zimbabwean fight for Black rule, the movie reflects the bitter reality that societal justice also has victims, even if they aren’t necessarily sympathetic ones. Based on a memoir by Alexandra Fuller, the story puts its narrative focus on the descendants of the original white colonizers who are clinging to an existence that they know is coming to an end. Although they are violently, profanely resisting that change, even they realize that they have benefited from an unjust system.
Told from the perspective of 8-year-old Bobo (Lexi Venter), a precocious – and white – wild child growing up, we see her family as deeply flawed: racist, entitled, and on the wrong side of history. We also gradually learn that Bobo’s parents, Nicola and Tim, also carry a lot of emotional baggage (most recently, the accidental death of Bobo’s sister) that makes them less than ideal parents. Left mostly to her own devices, Bobo drifts around the farm and environs, curiously exploring both family dysfunction and racial politics as they play out in daily life. Her closest relationship is with Sarah (Zikhona Bali), the Black servant in the household who takes pity on Bobo’s loneliness, even though the other Africans around the farm warn of the consequences of being seen as too sympathetic to the whites.
It is a dense and nuanced story, made more profound by the awareness that the elation felt by the black African characters at their 1980 political victory, the election of Robert Mugabe, has not really turned out so well 40 years later.
Actress Embeth Davidtz (Schindler’s List, Matilda) is the driving force behind Don’t Let Go to the Dogs Tonight. She directed the film, wrote the screenplay from Fuller’s memoir, and stars as the alcoholic, manic-depressive Nicola. As director, Davidtz lets the story unfold slowly and subtly. This is not a plot driven movie. And she is not afraid to allow her central characters to reveal their weaknesses.
The performances — especially Davidtz, Venter, and Bali – are very grounded and resonant. The look of the movie is also quite effectively gritty and worn.
This is not going to be a film for everyone, but for audiences that can sit quietly and absorb a delicate character study, Don’t Let Go to the Dogs Tonight is heartfelt and rewarding.
Official Trailer
