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Neria Movie Review

Neria is a 1991 Zimbabwean drama film directed by Godwin Mawuru and starring Jesese Mungoshi. It is such a moving tale.

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“Stay strong Neria. God is with you“

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A Zimbabwean widow falls prey to her greedy brother-in-law who takes her children and belongings. She then tries to fight the whole patriarchal system and retain her children and her house. Zimbabwean cinema is a home to only a handful of films, Neria being by far most famous of the bunch. The now diseased Godwin Mawuru did not direct that many films as he focused on television later down the line, but his excellent work in this movie needs to be appreciated.

In all intents and purposes, Neria is a conventional movie. That, however, doesn’t always mean it’s a bad thing and in this instance clearly this approach was effective, but what it does mean is that this familiar and populist approach to storytelling did prevent it from reaching greatness. Nowhere is that the case more than in that final act that was a standard capping of the story in the form of a courtroom drama, something that we’ve seen countless times before.

With that being said, this is still a tremendously powerful, highly touching story of a woman who has lost everything, but who has to fight for herself and for her place in this clearly misogynist society. The theme of feminism is actually not shoehorned in here. In fact, it’s a natural part of the film that is genuinely emotional and inspiring instead of manipulative.

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What I also admired about Neria is that ethnographic approach to storytelling that defines a lot of African cinema. Here, just by watching this film you get a clear sense of the Zimbabwean way of life as well as their music (more on that later), mourning and sociological issues. Again, all of these elements were impactful because they were deftly incorporated into the screenplay.

The main performance from Jesese Mungoshi in the titular role is powerful and deeply affecting. She is a fantastic female role model and a highly sympathetic figure. The romantic first act was also wonderful and it served as the pillar of the story that would soon turn much darker. The only issue I found with the film’s characterization is in that brother-in-law character as he felt a bit too villainous and almost caricaturist in my opinion.

Neria is above all else iconic for its soundtrack and its eponymous song. Rarely have I witnessed such a strong soundtrack as it not only accompanies the sequences in the film beautifully, but it genuinely elevates them. Oliver Mtukudzi is a renowned Zimbabwean singer and his singing was just beautiful here. The song Neria is wonderfully sung with fittingly inspiring lyrics for the story and an instantly memorable beat to it. This was the moment that made me fall in love with this movie despite some of its inherent flaws.

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It’s a shame that this movie is not as well known in the West as it is in Africa. It is available in tis entirety on YouTube and it is in the English language. It’s also very populist and instantly likable in its basic story and characters, making the barrier for entry quite easy. Hopefully, it will be discovered sooner rather than later as it really deserves more attention.