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For those of us who follow the goings-on in Africa: finally, some good news.
The refreshing and at times harrowing documentary Sisters in Law chronicles a handful of successfully prosecuted child and spousal abuse cases in the muddy village of Kumba, Cameroon, a place where divorce is taboo, abuse is nearly de rigueur, and a smug Islamic patriarchy rules the households. The titular “sisters” are no-nonsense state prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba, who bring a little feminism — as well as justice and sense — to town.
Spare and unsentimental in its approach, Sisters is also 20 minutes too long and lacks context: we’re shown little of the lives of “Africa’s own Judge Judys” outside the court (the movie is more about the Cameroonian justice system itself), which is especially disappointing given their larger-than-life personalities. Still, amidst tales of Sudanese genocide and Third-World poverty, Sisters covers a story well worth a Nicholas Kristof column.
Opens April 12 at Film Forum
The refreshing and at times harrowing documentary Sisters in Law chronicles a handful of successfully prosecuted child and spousal abuse cases in the muddy village of Kumba, Cameroon, a place where divorce is taboo, abuse is nearly de rigueur, and a smug Islamic patriarchy rules the households. The titular “sisters” are no-nonsense state prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba, who bring a little feminism — as well as justice and sense — to town.
Spare and unsentimental in its approach, Sisters is also 20 minutes too long and lacks context: we’re shown little of the lives of “Africa’s own Judge Judys” outside the court (the movie is more about the Cameroonian justice system itself), which is especially disappointing given their larger-than-life personalities. Still, amidst tales of Sudanese genocide and Third-World poverty, Sisters covers a story well worth a Nicholas Kristof column.
Opens April 12 at Film Forum
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