The Constant Gardner

Last night I went to see the Constant Gardner with Liz. What an incredible film. Directed by Fernando Meirelles (who also made the amazing City of God), based on a book by John La Carre (there should be an accent over the final e but can't be bothered to do that)and starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz.

Lizzy said it was a disturbing film, and in many ways that's very true. It highlights in a very real way the level of injustice that the west forces onto the third world. The central story, which I won't ruin since there's an element of a whodunit to it, involves a British Diplomat whose wife has begun to investigate the use of an experimental drug in Kenya, where much of the film is set. It's a challenging film to watch as you are forced to realise that we, or at least I, live with a huge level of ignorance of what goes on with the permission of our country.

Whilst all these things are disturbing, part of the beauty of this film is that it's also a love story. It's a love story between the diplomat and his wife but it's also a story that's in love with Africa. The cinematography really brings out the beauty of the country and the way the African characters, although generally they are the lesser characters, show resilience, patience and above all respect and love for the people they come into contact with. With that though comes an acknowledgment of the reality of life in Africa and the tough choices that they have to make to survive. This film refuses to see things in black and white and shows the world in true gradients of grey, with flashes of beauty and true humanity shining through it.

One problem with the film though was that there was in no way any constant gardening, but then that would have been a much less interesting film.