Farewell Amor (2020)
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Farewell Amor Movie Review
Farewell Amor is a 2020 drama film directed by Ekwa Msangi and starring Zainab Jah and Ntare Mwine. It’s a very moving drama.
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“We don’t even know each other anymore, or ourselves!“
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It is about Angolan immigrants to the United States and is told from the perspective of three different characters – the mother, the daughter and the father. This was a fascinating, very intriguing way to deal with the standard immigration storyline. Seeing the different perspectives was a powerful storytelling tool and very insightful and grounded in reality, having in mind that the truth in life is mostly gray and not black-and-white.
The daughter’s part was the least interesting to me, though the emphasis on African ancestry and music was fascinating. The father’s storyline is better and quite moving. These parts were made with so much emotion and empathy. But to me the mother’s arc was the most powerful as seeing her point of view made for a necessary contrast to her husband and some of the scenes are truly heartbreaking. The dinner scene was heartwarming and quite poignant.
The situation here is very specific as the father came to the US much before his family and now he has to reunite with them, but the movie manages to transcend that specificity by focusing on the emotional toll that this transitional period has for the family and how difficult it is to live in an entirely different country and also culture. It’s so hard, but at the same time the movie explores that maybe your first country was never your own country to begin with. It’s such a complex, tough situation that all immigrants face and here it’s portrayed with a lot of empathy.
The performances in Farewell Amor are phenomenal. Not only is Ntare Mwine so good as Walter and so sweet and likable, but Zainab Jah is absolutely amazing in portraying this traditional woman who has a hard time adapting to this new culture.
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The movie does feature an overly unrealistic happy ending that felt very rushed and messy. It also has a varying degree of success in portraying all three family members. Still though, most of the film was emotionally powerful and very well written in both dialogue and storytelling.
