July 24, 2025
FILM: ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL
DIRECTED BY: RUNGANO NYONI
STARRING: SUSAN CHARDY, ELIZABETH CHISELA, MAGGIE MULUBWA
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
During the opening scene of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, a woman is driving in the dark night. She slows down and notices something on the side of the road. It is a body. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be her Uncle Fred. The woman, Shula, played by Susan Chardy, is fairly stone faced during this scene as she calls her family to let them know. Nsansa (Elizabeth Chisela) is also outside the car but her attitude seems almost comically like a drunk party girl not overly concerned with what has happened. The film then follows the two women as they interact with a large assortment of aunties grieving the man’s passing and preparing for a funeral.
This might sound depressing but it actually becomes quite an enlightening account of who the man was and how the world around him deals with his death and role in their culture. The film was shot and is set in the African country of Zambia. It’s a poor region filled with flooded and decrepit-looking homes. Its culture requires that women do all of the housekeeping for the men. We see groups of them sewing, ironing, and cooking as they ready a space for the funeral. The men, on the other hand, sit and give orders to the women as to what they want to eat with very specific detail. Throughout this, many of the women wail loudly in their cries of grief.
What becomes interesting is how they contrast with Shula and Nsansa. Both sets of women are clearly of different generations. While the older aunties walk around in modest clothing and scarves around their heads, Nsansa and some of her peers wear modern, long braids and clothes. They seem out of place within the culture’s traditions. Shula sits somewhere between these worlds. Her hair is a bit ratty and her stoic persona suggests someone who hasn’t committed to either group of women. She goes along with traditional duties but comes across as someone observing how things are transpiring and, without serious judgement, taking it all in.
Director/writer Rungano Nyoni builds the details surrounding Uncle Fred slowly. We learn he wasn’t the best of men and was, in fact, an abuser of women. Shula, in particular, seems aware of this and her feelings are generally internalized. We know what she must be thinking: How can these women grieve and live the way they do knowing what the man was capable of? They seem to be in denial as they go about their duties unaware that there could even be an alternate way of thinking.
There’s a great scene in which Shula’s car is boxed in a tight parking lot. She frustratingly attempts to get out of her spot while Nsansa directs her from outside. Could this be a metaphor for the entrapment Shula feels within these cultural attitudes? Is she struggling to find her way out?
Of course, the other big motif of the film is the references to the guinea fowl. Most of us in the West might not have ever heard of the turkey-like birds but they are apparently quite common in this part of Africa. A television cartoon viewed within the film suggests the birds have strong, maternal instincts and let out a unique call to warn others when there is danger. Apparently, none of the women within this culture share this important protector role. Instead they may have lead their girls into dangerous situations with men whom they were raised to believe they must tend to in all circumstances.
Might Shula be the bridge to a more modern role for women?
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is an eye-opening look at a world in which the women’s liberation movement of the past never touched. The film is currently streaming on HBO/Max and is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime.
FILM: ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL
DIRECTED BY: RUNGANO NYONI
STARRING: SUSAN CHARDY, ELIZABETH CHISELA, MAGGIE MULUBWA
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
During the opening scene of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, a woman is driving in the dark night. She slows down and notices something on the side of the road. It is a body. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be her Uncle Fred. The woman, Shula, played by Susan Chardy, is fairly stone faced during this scene as she calls her family to let them know. Nsansa (Elizabeth Chisela) is also outside the car but her attitude seems almost comically like a drunk party girl not overly concerned with what has happened. The film then follows the two women as they interact with a large assortment of aunties grieving the man’s passing and preparing for a funeral.
This might sound depressing but it actually becomes quite an enlightening account of who the man was and how the world around him deals with his death and role in their culture. The film was shot and is set in the African country of Zambia. It’s a poor region filled with flooded and decrepit-looking homes. Its culture requires that women do all of the housekeeping for the men. We see groups of them sewing, ironing, and cooking as they ready a space for the funeral. The men, on the other hand, sit and give orders to the women as to what they want to eat with very specific detail. Throughout this, many of the women wail loudly in their cries of grief.
What becomes interesting is how they contrast with Shula and Nsansa. Both sets of women are clearly of different generations. While the older aunties walk around in modest clothing and scarves around their heads, Nsansa and some of her peers wear modern, long braids and clothes. They seem out of place within the culture’s traditions. Shula sits somewhere between these worlds. Her hair is a bit ratty and her stoic persona suggests someone who hasn’t committed to either group of women. She goes along with traditional duties but comes across as someone observing how things are transpiring and, without serious judgement, taking it all in.
Director/writer Rungano Nyoni builds the details surrounding Uncle Fred slowly. We learn he wasn’t the best of men and was, in fact, an abuser of women. Shula, in particular, seems aware of this and her feelings are generally internalized. We know what she must be thinking: How can these women grieve and live the way they do knowing what the man was capable of? They seem to be in denial as they go about their duties unaware that there could even be an alternate way of thinking.
There’s a great scene in which Shula’s car is boxed in a tight parking lot. She frustratingly attempts to get out of her spot while Nsansa directs her from outside. Could this be a metaphor for the entrapment Shula feels within these cultural attitudes? Is she struggling to find her way out?
Of course, the other big motif of the film is the references to the guinea fowl. Most of us in the West might not have ever heard of the turkey-like birds but they are apparently quite common in this part of Africa. A television cartoon viewed within the film suggests the birds have strong, maternal instincts and let out a unique call to warn others when there is danger. Apparently, none of the women within this culture share this important protector role. Instead they may have lead their girls into dangerous situations with men whom they were raised to believe they must tend to in all circumstances.
Might Shula be the bridge to a more modern role for women?
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is an eye-opening look at a world in which the women’s liberation movement of the past never touched. The film is currently streaming on HBO/Max and is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime.