Djon África (2018)

Directed by João Miller & Filipa Reis

A journey of discovery fuelled by naïve curiosity. Our protagonist Miguel (Miguel Moreira) embarks on an adventure in Cape Verde to find his absent father, as well as his place in the world. This is accomplished with utmost heart from some truly captivating actors.

The hint to a moral of this story comes within the first 20 minutes of the film from Isabel Cardoso.

“The kids today in Portugal, they get everything and they ask for more.”

This certainly brushes the surface, but this story has a lot more lessons to teach and a hell of a lot more wisdom to give. One heavily addressed subject is identity and belonging. Miguel is constantly bombarded with questions about him being a foreigner or an outsider and no matter how hard he tries to fit in or embrace his roots, it is clear Miguel is out of his depth.

Miguel Moreira acts with so much ease, that any scene feels completely natural. This tale is far from a comedy but the humour he brings to the character is fantastic and completely helps empathising with a carefree man, who deep down just wants to be loved.

Packed with interesting people that Miguel encounters, my stand out character is by far ‘Granny’. Super hilarious, straight talking and totally adorable. Not only does she bring so much heart to the story, she is also pivotal in helping Miguel come to the conclusions needed.

Finally, my stand out scene of this film has to be the ending shot, which is expertly done and wraps the film up beautifully. Not just a great moment, but also a perfect ending to a very enjoyable story.

4/5