Rafiki (2018) User Reviews

Lovely

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 10 February 2021]

"Growing up, I saw everybody else fall in love. I saw Europeans fall in love. I saw Americans continuously fall in love. But I never saw Africans fall in love. I saw Africans procreate. I saw Africans affected by HIV and AIDS, but those weren't love stories. And so more than anything, I wanted to add a love story to African film history, and that's why I made Rafiki." -- Director Wanuri Kahiu

A touching story of two young women who fall in love in homophobic Kenya, a place where it can get you beat up by a mob or imprisoned. There is a lot to like about the beautiful leads (Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva) and the dazzling colors on display in scene after scene, but my favorite part of the film was how it portrayed the tenderness of love. There is a sweetness to it that's undeniable, and cuts across any culture or orientation. Just a lovely film.

Open your heart or not?

[Avwillfan89 · 8/10 · 26 June 2019]

When your community and your family are against what you truly are, do you conform to their demands or do you fight for what you truly believe?

This is the question that Rafiki asks - the first Kenyan film to openly portray a same sex relationship. These things have been seen in other films around the globe before. But every society has a story to tell.

The film is colourful, well acted, thoughtful and sympathetic to its subject matter, despite it still being a crime in Kenya. Top marks for everyone involved in making such a brilliant movie. And making it available everywhere in the world.

Poignant Kenyan Drama

[larrys3 · 8/10 · 20 August 2019]

Set in Kenya, Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva star here as Kena and Ziki respectively. The two young women fall in love and begin a lesbian relationship. Ironically, their fathers are each candidates in an upcoming local election.

However, in Kenya, gay relationships are not only forbidden but illegal as well. If Kena and Ziki naively thought that their families or the people in their small town would just let them be, they were sorely mistaken. When their relationship becomes public, things will take a very dark turn for all involved.

I thought this was a most poignant drama filled with rich and real characters. It also has extremely colorful cinematography. I'd be most interested in seeing the next film of co-writer and director Wanuri Kahiu.

An audacity for hope

[chong_an · 7/10 · 7 September 2018]

In Kenya, not only is homosexuality illegal, the clergy routinely preaches against it, and the general population is against it. So things get tricky when 2 young women become friends (Rafiki, apparently, means friend), and then lovers. One complication is that their fathers are running for political office against each other. Meanwhile, the dress-allergic Kena's divorced mother's big dream is to see Kena marry a doctor, while Ziki points out that Kena has good enough marks to become a doctor herself.

Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival, the director pointed out that Rafiki was banned in Kenya for being "too hopeful". The camerawork and music gives a good feel for some section of Nairobi, but the leads (even with an acting coach) do show their inexperience.

In Many Respects an 8 Star

[westsideschl · 7/10 · 2 September 2019]

Given the horrendous murders, beatings, discriminations against LGBTQ in many African countries & especially so in those where the Christian & Islamic influences are strong it was courageous for this production crew & actors to expose the hatred. Our lead actors had little to no acting experience & did a credible job. The only negative is that it didn't show how deadly serious this issue is.

An African Classic

[uaejon · 10/10 · 11 May 2018]

Lets remember this is an African production so look beyond the occasional lack of big budget filming. This film has a great story and keeps you watching until the end which is more than can be said for many Hollywood movies. Kudos to all involved and the fact Kenyan authorities have chosen to ban it suggests they fear how good this films moral lessons actually is.

A Brave Move

[JamesHitchcock · 7/10 · 1 August 2020]

This "Rafiki" (Swahili for "friend") has nothing to do with the character from "The Lion King". It is about a friendship between two young women which eventually becomes a lesbian romance. The two girls are the daughters of two political rivals who are candidates in the same election, although not too much is made of this aspect of the story.

The story is a fairly slight one, and were this an American or European film I doubt if it would have attracted much attention. Except, of course, this is not an American or European film. It is a Kenyan film and the two young women, Kena and Ziki, are from Nairobi. As in many other African countries, homosexuality is both illegal and socially taboo in Kenya, so a film on this theme was unprecedented there. The Kenyan film industry seems to be in the position which the British and American film industries were in in 1961. This was the year which saw the first mainstream British film about same-sex love ("Victim", about male homosexuality) and the first American one ("The Children's Hour", about lesbianism).

It was therefore a brave move on the part of director Wanuri Kahiu to make this film. It was, predictably, banned by the Kenyan authorities, "due to its homosexual theme and clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law". What upset them was not just that the film dealt with lesbianism but also that it treated the subject in a positive way. After a lawsuit the High Court of Kenya temporarily lifted the ban, allowing the film to be screened in the country for a limited period of one week. (The hope was that this would allow it to be considered for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but in the event another film became Kenya's nomination for this award). Let us hope that films like this one will lead to a change in attitudes to homosexuality in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa. 7/10

PURE DYNAMITE ALL THROUGH

[johnlejeune · 10/10 · 12 November 2018]

I'm only watching this in November and I can't believe it has eluded me all this while. It draws you in from the first second and you completely forget everything else till its over, then you wish it wasn't. 😘 I loved it and I can not believe it has been banned 😥... Has it really?

Rainbows

[Cineanalyst · 7/10 · 11 June 2020]

"Rafiki" is a lovely picture: colorful, kinetic, well-scored and about a blossoming young romance. It makes the already-repugnant plot turn to the homophobic reaction of the bigots in Nairobi all the more disheartening. There's hardly any doubt as to the human rights abuses that the movie condemns, either, as "Rafiki" was only allowed to be screened in Kenya to qualify for Oscar contention before promptly returning to being banned. But, religious and societal bigotry aren't what this picture is mostly about, nor is it the rather poorly-developed political division between the young women's two families, with its flickering semblance of feuding Montagues and Capulets. It's a love story, relatively brief and brisk, and it need not be more.

The romantic leads are likable, but the real highlights of "Rafiki" are the color schemes and production design. From the striking clothing of citizens and Ziki's braided hair, to the muted pastels of the couple's more intimate scenes, this is full of bold compositions. I also like the use of music, from the opening credits sequence played over "Suzie Noma," which sets the stage for Ziki and her circle's dancing throughout. All of which, too, stands in stark contrast to the conservatism of others in a place here that is celebrated for freedom of movement, with not only Ziki's dancing, but also the traveling of streets whether by Kena's skateboard or Blacksta's motorcycle, as well as the football, and one colored like a rainbow, which is surely no coincidence given that gay pride is represented by the rainbow flag.

Old Wine In A New Bottle

[boblipton · 5/10 · 23 October 2020]

Samantha Mugatsia is a young Kenyan woman with her future all neatly planned: she will become a nurse and marry Neville Misati and have children and a middle class life. Then in walks Sheila Munyiva and they make a fumbling start towards a lesbian relationship.

Wanuri Kahiu's film isn't about the dreadful state of Africa that so many films have portrayed that continent throughout the history of the films. It's a love story, full of bright colors and parents and society -- opposing their union (homosexuality is still illegal in Kenya) their quest for happiness. It might as well have been Romeo and Mercutio, except that no one dies. Had it been a Hollywood movie set in New York, about a woman engaged to one man, falling in love with another, it would have been seen as puzzlingly banal in its plot; given its setting, it won numerous awards around the world. Isn't that sad?

Stunning, simply stunning

[emmebutton · 10/10 · 8 November 2018]

I can see this quickly becoming a modern lesbian Romeo and Juliet story, and the more African films in the public eye the better.

I Enjoyed it!

[cmrosado-260-776196 · 7/10 · 5 August 2019]

Congratulations on your movie. I just want to say that i watched a very similar movie some months ago. It's spanish and it's called Carmen & Lola, the love between two gipsy girls. Almost the same story and just like yours, a good movie too.

Same poo, different toilet.

[NewgenW · 4/10 · 14 April 2024]

Because of a school trip, I had the opportunity to watch the movie "Rafiki": a dramatic Kenyan movie directed by Wanari Kahiu. The plot takes place in Nairobi, where Kena, a brillant highschooler, fell in love with Ziki, a young woman with a flashy style. However, their love is forbidden, because they're both girls, and being homosexual in Nigeria is prohibited. Furthermore their parents are political opponents, that's make their relationship even more impossible. And that's what makes this movie so basic.

If I had one dollar for every time I saw this "forbidden love gimmick" I would be a freaking billionaire!!

For sure, the "Romeo and Juliette" cliché script is horrible. There are so many problems in the writing. The characters are poorly written, they're are too 2 dimensional, we can't explore a lot of their personalities or perspectives. And a movie with flat character isn't a good movie.

In term of cinematography, it's not that amazing. The mise-en-scène is very basic, the overlapped audio's cuts are not fully mastered and made the understanding of what was happening in the screen very hard.

At least the soundtrack was good and the topic of homosexuality was well aborded. But I still think this movie was garbage and a big waste of time.

I can understand how we can put more than 5 stars.

Beautiful but oh so predictable

[avinashb75 · 6/10 · 13 June 2019]

Rafiki, over and above it's central premise of a same sex romance, portrays a slice of working class Kenyan life masterfully. But apart from that, the story and the characters are not given enough time on screen to enable the story to make an impact, and the ending is all too obvious - but maybe that's the point. A good attempt second half failed to hold my attention

Beautiful but shallow

[mokono · 6/10 · 25 November 2018]

It's a beautiful movie with a strong and important political and societal message. It's also a movie with very cliché characters and no real development. The story seems really just an excuse to add a little drama to the main romance, but is even too flimsy to accomplish anything. Does the political message lose its strength? Well, the movie did get banned, so it did enough.

A beautiful tragic love story

[passtheduchy-66137 · 9/10 · 12 April 2019]

I just thought it was great, it held my attention all the way through, lack of budget and Hollywood stars wasn't an issue at all, I even since learnt one of the main characters never acted before in her life so that was a total shock to me.

The director did really well to seek out the right talent she needed for this movie, in a way I feel that is what makes this film even more authentic, real Africans telling their own stories.

It's a real shame Kenya banned the movie but the band was lifted for 7 days in thos 7 days it sold out completely.

I really do feel if this movie gets the support it deserves and maybe win some awards they will have no choice but to lift the ban in kenya and hopefully change some of their laws in regards to freedom of expression.

good, but could be better

[martabboavida · 7/10 · 30 July 2020]

I feel like this movie was a great way to add some much needed black queer representation in the cinema industry amd the whole aesthetic of it all was really pretty. The story was moving, nut the characters could have used some more screen time and personality info. Maybe the budget didn't allow it, maybe it was even intentional- however, I would have liked to know the characters best. And I'm ot talking about just Ziki and Keena, but all of them (the people in this film feel a little cliché: It also seemes to me that everithing was happening faster than it should - again, maybe the budget couldn't do much more. anyways, I totally recomend watching this one, even if it's just to watch something different from thr basic white american movies.

Simple yet powerful

[fvdiemer · 9/10 · 6 December 2020]

Rafiki is a simple story but it is so beautifully executed and I understand why this film has been banned as it really draws you in. Mugatsia and Munyiva's acting together with the colored set design and sountrack make you fall in love along with them. Powerful movie.

rafiki

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 7 November 2020]

Wonder how much this rather standard treatment of an illicit Lesbian affair was helped by its being set in Kenya, a country I, for one, am not used to seeing without safaris? C plus.

The scary truth revealed.

[veerleameyaw · 9/10 · 22 December 2019]

Someone had recommended this movie to me so i watched this movie 1 week ago. I saw some interviews with the director, and she said: Love is love it doesn't matter if it's with the same race.

Since it is a tabou in Africa, I am glad she is brave enough to break this tabou thanks to making this movie.

I enjoyed every second of this movie, it was deep, shocking and interesting to watch!

Fresh and thoughtful.

[adamjohns-42575 · 7/10 · 6 November 2022]

Rafiki (2018) -

I'm not really in to lesbian films, mostly because they don't really give me anyone to look at that I might be attracted to (I love a nice bit of cock), but the story of this one was sweet and the lead girls played their parts in a cute, heartwarming way. The story had a touch of the Juliet and Juliet about it, with the rivalry between the lovers parents and their own "Forbidden" love.

It was horrible though to see that such ignorant and brutal attitudes still exist in 2022.

It did make me feel safer in my own world, to see how much more protected I am and that this LGBTQ+ intolerant country is so far away from me, which wasn't necessarily a positive of the film, but more of a silver lining for me as the viewer.

I can't believe that the worlds governors aren't doing more to protect people from these persecution's and to educate the others, because if I think about it too much my head would just explode with rage.

I'm still livid that nearly 40 years on, the efforts of Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and company with the release of Band Aid's - 'Do They Know It's Christmas', doesn't seem to have made much difference to vast numbers of people on the same continent, who still don't have access to fresh drinking water or the most rudimentary medical or educational facilities. There is so much corruption in the world, maybe a Zombie apocalypse would be a good thing right about now?

And so much of the animosity in this story was based in a hate from a religion that has traditionally been meant to be about loving they neighbour instead and that the African's didn't even have until it was inflicted upon them by the West. Of course I don't know what their religious beliefs were before then, but brutally beating someone for eating shellfish would be considered an absolutely awful thing to do now, so why does this so called rule of not lying with another man hold so much power? It's a cliché to use that argument, but that's because it's true.

When things really started to kick off, I couldn't help but think that they would be dead if they were male and actually, in some respects I appreciated the fact that I was watching this film about two girls instead, because I didn't want to relive the trauma of Jake Gyllenhaal's death from 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005) and it was something new to me for that.

It was quite a slow burner and could probably have been a half hour film short featured on the "Girls On Film" DVD's instead, although I obviously understood the importance of it being made at all.

I would definitely have finished it earlier than it did though, because there were too many ending scenes.

I also didn't understand why they dropped in and out of different languages. Sometimes English and sometimes a more local dialect. It made it slightly tough to follow.

And sometimes they would speak and their lips wouldn't move and I didn't know if it was an attempt to be artistic or just a bad edit/dubbing.

It also felt partially improvised at times, but naturally delivered at least and in a good way.

I didn't think that the film quality was that good or maybe it was the camera work, but it seemed like something cheap, made for TV or something. But the editing in general was very good and some of the artistic shots were beautifully relevant and seemingly innocuous, yet they set the scenes well, really putting me in an environment that I didn't know that well at all. The soundtrack was very pretty too.

There was no gratuitous sex shown, which for me, as a gay man, was a good thing, but others might have appreciated some. With that said, I don't think that it would have added anything to the film and might have cheapened the point that the film was trying to make. Sex is beautiful, but it is the thing that grosses some people out about a homosexual/lesbian relationship and could potentially make a loving romance something a bit sordid as it seemed to in 'The Handmaiden' (2016).

I did feel that it had a similarly pointless ending like 'Moonlight' (2016), without much resolution, but this film scored higher for me than that one, because it showed the love more effectively throughout and with more care.

Overall I did enjoy it, which was surprising, as I had expected to turn it off before the first twenty minutes were done, but somehow it captivated me and I needed to see how things turned out for them.

It could perhaps have used a bit of polish, but some of its naïveté may have been what gave it the charm that it had.

708.45/1000.

A Must See!

[debrobins · 10/10 · 18 January 2020]

Beautiful and Moving! I loved every second. I hate to cry when I watch movies, but it was more than worth it for this one. One of my new favorites!