Destiny

I can only imagine what it would have been like to make such a movie in Africa 25 years (1997) ago. Stories such as this are often never told in Africa and its just amazing how close to real life this cuts

This film explores the major concepts of sexuality as seen in Africa, from the unconscious euphoria of a young love, to public perception, to its relation to African spirituality to parental concerns and rejection, to an acquired state of shame wrapped in denial and then finally the confrontation of the truth of one's sexuality.

The characters' journey is captured with an amazing composition, in a way that shows its beauty but also reflect their pain and struggles. From urban scenery to beaches and waterfalls, it is set to showcase the rich earthly heritage of the people who's story it tells.

The beauty of story telling lies in the fact that a story should remain Timeless and relevant no matter the Era it is told from or told to and for decades to come, this film will remain relevant.

I really enjoyed watching this movie, after a while the subtitles seem to fad away and your left with a movie that I feel really relates to everyone, not just same-gender loving men. I thought the realistic view of love used by the director was great. He showed that love, real love, can be a physically painful experience. Love hurts, but its worth it when you find the one that you are willing to defy all odds with. I fell in love with love again, just by watching this movie and understanding that with love all things are possible. It was truly a great movie watching experience. I would recommend this movie to anyone that is open minded and wants to see a well made movie featuring two beautiful people.

This is a good film for teachers. It involves a story that is of interest to students (a relationship between two gay high school students in Africa). It shows both the Western side (big city; the boys are enrolled in a prep school) and traditional side (one boy's mother sends him to a traditional healer to cure him of his homosexuality) of Africa. It raises interesting issues relating to homosexuality (the boys' peers are accepting of the relationship, but their parents are not) and race (a white character has a black mother -- it is unclear at first whether the character is white, or just the actress). Also, it has a somewhat surprising ending. Finally, it should be viewed before being shown to a class; highly sensitive parents might object to the fact that there are a couple of kissing scenes between the boys; there are also one or two oblique references to anal sex.

The two young men in this film experience pressures from their parents, one, his father wants him to follow in the business hes established and is concerned his sons sexuality will affect his reputation. The other lad his mothers issue is he will not marry and thus continue the family. This movie challenges the Northern, I say Northern because we in Europe are North not West of Africa, conceptions of 'gay identities' showing instead ways people in other cultures negotiate shifting sexual orientations, identities and alliances.

It challenges the conservative belief that homosexuality doesn't exist in African culture and is some mental aberration brought over by the white man. The cinematography and composition are used excellently considering the low budget, there's a real beauty to this film and it imparts a great sense of place. Issues affecting African countries, and the big concerns for the Africans, such as the over riding importance of family, how your identity really is determined by your family the conflicts between tradition and modernity, the search for an authentic identity after colonialism, are explored through the two boys. By family I mean there just isn't the concept of the individual, the ego in a lot of African cultures, life is seen from a very different angle which a work like this really shows.

Well worth watching if you re at all interested in these issues and for anyone wanting a new take on boy meets boy films this is a must see.

At times I found this film frustrating as it laboured on instead of telling an interesting story. It was only in the last reel when the camera gets close to the central character, Magna, that an attachment was created by audience and filmmaker. If only the film began on this note and carried it through the sometimes silly disposition of dialogue and acting. Great soundtrack.