Movie talk: Life, Above All

Life, Above all is a film about a young girl in rural South Africa trying to hold her family together as they endure a chain of tragedies. You can find the plot summary and spoiler reviews at IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes.

I like the choice of title which can have multiple meanings that capture the various themes in the film. First it speaks of the value of every human life. Some quotes from the movie echo harsh realities of how we could perceive people suffering from AIDS. "Those whores, they deserve what they get."  The film conveys that many of those suffering from AIDS do not deserve it, and even those who do are still beautiful human beings with a lot to give. Secondly, it resonates of hope. Where there is life, there is hope.

It is a tragedy that in many places in the world, people are so unknowledgeable about AIDS and disease that they can't help but explain it through their own world view. Someone with AIDS is bewitched and they are seen as a curse, and so they are often driven out of their communities, left to suffer alone.

How big the gap between the world we live in and theirs!

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