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On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

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Dec 13, 2024

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Synopsis

On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family, in filmmaker Rungano Nyoni's surreal and vibrant reckoning with the lies we tell ourselves.

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Metacritic

60
May 18, 2024

While it’s such an intriguing idea, an almost absurdist scrutiny of what avoidance looks like and how families choreograph their collective denial, there is something a little bit contrived in it and, though always engaged, I found myself longing for some outright passion or rage or confrontation.

Metacritic review by Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
The Guardian
90
May 18, 2024

Perhaps what’s most impressive about On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is Nyoni’s respect for subtext. Her film doesn’t aim to be a guide, a balm or an ode to forgiveness. The director rejects the ease of over-explanation and allure of an exclusively reverential tone. She reaches for honesty, and what she uncovers is at once disquieting and deeply absorbing.

Metacritic review by Lovia Gyarkye
Lovia Gyarkye
The Hollywood Reporter
83
May 18, 2024

The scarring power of Nyoni’s film ignites from Shula’s eventual realization that she would rather torch her family to the ground than let them forget what happened.

David Ehrlich
IndieWire