The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, is a 2019 movie based on the true life story of William Kamkwamba, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi who created a machine that saved not just his family but the entire village from famine.
Truth be told, such movies make me emotional. Watching a movie based on true events always makes it stick. The memory almost never fades. So, what about this movie made my weekend?
See, there was no mind blowing scene or filming techniques, the story was mild and told as it was (or so I hope). I have watched something like this before and that is what made it so enjoyable. Laid back and dealing with real life situations. In this one, it showed me the contrast between this country I call home and a poorer one. I have heard of famines but I was just beginning to understand the repercussions while watching this movie.
Watching Agnes and Annie nearly get assaulted by hungry mobs gave me a brand new perspective to this thing called “famine”. The riots and fights, and let us not leave out what is common in all countries of the world: corrupt men in power.
Given that this is based on a true story, and only the actors can give it to us as it was intended, I can just say that Maxwell Simba who played the role of William did well. The gravity of each emotion he displayed to the best of his ability. This is my first time watching him and he made the part of William come alive for me.
For a moment, it felt like I was in Annie’s shoes. Lily Banda had beautiful control over her character and she excellently, silently conveyed the thoughts of Annie even without saying a word. Her short outbursts, her straying eyes, the context was a bonus in my opinion.
When his tears fell, the words “nothing can break a man like family” came to my mind. Played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Trywell to me, was like any other man who was a victim to his circumstances. That is not his fault, is it? And like every other man who feels weak and helpless, he lashed out and his words were less than scathing to poor William. Like I said, nothing breaks a man like family.
Played by Aissa Maiga, I think Agnes struck me the most in the movie. She did not have that many lines but every time she appeared, her scenes were moving - to me at least. A lot centered around her even if it wasn’t that obvious until I got to the very end of the movie.
My favourite scene is right on the edge of the movie. When William needed Trywell to let go of something, which led to him being spoken unkindly to and then Trywell relayed it to Agnes whose change in countenance spoke very highly of the actress. She stirred it so well… I digress.
Anyway, Agnes raised a question about sacrifice and family that got to Trywell. Now, I have to applaud Trywell for listening to his wife and acknowledging her pain. I also can’t seem to forget the part where Trywell would forfeit his portion of food for his family to eat. This raised a lot of questions in my mind but this is a movie review not a reflective post.
All in all, my all time favourite scene remains where Agnes questioned Trywell and followed by that is when Agnes defended Trywell to Annie who was already getting angsty. Maybe it was how they decided to show it, but the understanding and level of self control displayed by each member of the Kamkwamba family during such frustrating times is not something I will be forgetting anytime soon.
Posted using CineTV
