Neptune Frost - Tumblr Posts

Last Thursday at movie club the film that won the poll for my suggested topic, 'Africa', was one that none of us had really heard of, Neptune Frost. An Afrofuturistic musical spanning a variety of themes and ideas and set in Burundi, this was a fascinating and thought-provoking watch.

The first half of this film was tougher to get into but once we move to 'Digitalia' and meet the full cast of characters suddenly everything began to truly click, brimming with bold, emotionally gripping themes of fitting societal expectations (on both an individual and broader cultural level), exploitation, economy, cultural identity, and the brutal realities and dualities of technological progress. Rap, folklore, music, colourful visuals and gorgeously creative costuming are used to bring to life a multi-layered plane of existence and characters quite literally acting as ciphers for a larger message.

During our movie club discussion it was interesting to compare my engagement and resonance with the film as someone who has spent 9 weeks volunteering in Namibia, interacting with the San tribe, compared to the rest of the group who didn't have an equivalent experience. I don't know much about Burundi and Rwanda specifically but my understanding and sense of authenticity and richness in the film was definitely impacted by my experiences in a different way. By the end I had a great appreciation for this ambitious and experimental film, and feel so glad that a project with a very African voice won (rather than one more heavily filtered through a Hollywood lens).

Plus as a huge jacket fan I got to add another great entry to my ongoing mental list of Awesome Jackets People Have Worn And I Now Covet!