Strength of ‘Life, Above All’ Found in Khomotso Manyaka

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CHICAGO – As long as one person is inflicted with HIV, or full-blown AIDS, the crisis will never be averted, despite less of a profile in America and Europe. Africa is still in the midst of dealing with the epidemic, and Khomotso Manyaka portrays a symbol of that struggle in the enlightening “Life, Above All.”

Manyaka plays a 12 year old girl, forced to care for her entire family once the disease overtakes her mother. Her journey through this situation becomes a symbol for all of Africa, and the world, as rejection from friends and fellow villagers force her to expose uncover secrets in searching for the mother that is forced into exile. Manyaka’s natural performance, both innocent and strong, represents a simple plea for humanity during a moment of truth.

Manyaka is Chanda, a bright and sensible soul in the midst of lower middle class circumstances and family distress. Forced out of school to care for her two siblings while her mother (Lerato Mvelase) takes ill, Chanda finds solace in her friend Esther (Keaobaka Makanayne) and neighbors like Mrs. Tata (Harriet Manamelam). As the illness of Chanda’s mother deepens, she finds the people in her small village rejecting the family.

Khomotso Manyaka as Chanda in ‘Life, Above All’
Khomotso Manyaka as Chanda in ‘Life, Above All’
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics

The mother is exiled from the village, unbeknownst to Chanda (her aunt is temporarily caring for the family). This angers the young girl, and she defiantly leaves her homeland to search for the severely ill matriarch. What she will learn on the path to finding her will eventually touch everyone, from the villagers to Mrs. Tata, and eventually her own lost female forebear.

The film is highly symbolic, as the South African village where Chanda resides represents all of Africa, where fear, loathing and misunderstanding towards AIDS still permeates a superstitious culture (this is not unusual, there was total misunderstanding in Europe and America as well during the beginnings of the AIDS crisis). What is fascinating is that a 12-year old girl is the voice of reason, and represents all the brave warriors of the disease who sought to use education as means to lessen fear.

Khomotso Manyaka is making her film debut here, and she is nothing short of amazing. She embraces the character and the circumstances, and never wavers when faced with terrible emotions and anger in association with her mother’s fate. She is particularly good when relating to Esther, her friend of the same age. Esther is orphaned, perhaps because of the same killing disease, and throws herself into a life of prostitution to survive. Manyaka’s Chanda treats all these horrible threats to normalcy with the same strong matter-of-factness, get it done rather than cower before them.

If there is another symbol within a character inside the film it is Mrs. Tata. She struggles mightily with an ‘us against them’ mentality when dealing with the village attitude about AIDS versus her love of Chanda’s family. The veteran actress Harriet Manamelam loses herself in this conflict and it is her shifts that seem to represent all the shifts that everyone has had to make, in their own level of involvement or culture, with the sorrow of disease. Besides Chanda, it is in a sense her story, as both a reactive individual and a village influencer.

Khomotso Manyaka and her Acting ‘Coach,’ Harriet Manamela as Mrs. Tata in ‘Life, Above All’
Khomotso Manyaka and Harriet Manamela as Mrs. Tata in ‘Life, Above All’
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics

The South African born director, Oliver Schmitz, creates a loving tribute to his homeland (he was born of German expatriates) and creates an understanding of the overwhelming obstacles that the disease has against the culture. It is essentially fear born of a lack of education, and a tribute to those courageous enough to stand up. In an interview with HollywoodChicago.com, he spoke of making sure his first-time lead actress Manyaka got all the right ingredients around her to capture Chanda, and the results are nothing short of magnificent.

There is a numbness in the film, as emotions and ways of life are so different in the South African setting. It is a sadness that comes from knowing that safety is an illusion, and the accident of birth location can determine so much of life’s relative quality. The title of the film, although cryptic, makes much more sense when realizing those truths.

“Life, Above All” continues its limited release in Chicago on September 2nd. See local listings for theaters and show times. Featuring Khomotso Manyaka, Lerato Mvelase, Keaobaka Makanayne and Harriet Manamela. Adapted by Dennis Foon, directed by Oliver Schmitz. Rated PG-13.” Click here HollywoodChicago.com’s interview with lead actress Khomotso Manyaka and director Oliver Schmitz of “Life, Above All.”

HollywoodChicago.com senior staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2011 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

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