One of the corners on the Criterion Channel website (which, again, offers me more films than I can ever watch) is the section on Films Leaving This Month. I don't want to be that idiot who had the chance to watch a classic film and somehow missed the opportunity because I didn't get around to it. It also foregrounds films or directors that may have gotten lost in the shuffle, and also puts me on the clock. And I'm glad the Criterion Channel put me on the clock, because this morning I watched one of the best films I've seen in years: Rungano Nyoni's 2017 film I Am Not a Witch. It's a Zambian film that focuses on a nine year old girl who is accused of being a witch, but it's really much more broadly about misogyny and corruption in Africa. Shula(Maggie Mulubwa) ends up accused of being a witch, and ends up being sent to a camp for witches, which is one part tourist trap of one part source for slave labor. Mr. Banda (Henry B.J. Phiri) plays the government official is charged with looking after Shula, but in the end exploits her. The film gets its point across, but it's never clumsy or preachy, and it's both funny and also heartbreaking. I suppose all the time I've spent in Africa, including far too briefly in Zambia, help me appreciate some of the more subtle points, but I think anyone would love this film. Highly, highly recommended.
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