Msangi observes the family’s struggles with a highly empathetic gaze, avoiding sappy sentiments and overly predictable plot turns. When Sylvia enrolls in dance class, Farewell Amor could have easily morphed into Step Up 6: Keep Steppin’, but the filmmaker wisely provides just enough glimpses to guarantee investment without overwhelming the entire story. Her film is a quiet study of how a family overcomes the immigrant experience’s trials and tribulations. It’s about the difficulties of adjusting to a new environment, the initial culture shock, and the gradual realization of what you’re leaving behind and what you’re gaining.
With a keen eye for details, Msangi explores how our differences can also bind us. Esther’s dinner prayers are intense and initially throw Walter off (“How long has she been so religious?” he asks Sylvia). Esther disapproves of Sylvia’s “ugly,” glossy blue Doc Martens – an essential aspect of her new “persona” – worrying her peers will think that “Africans are tacky.” She’s also not too fond of her daughter’s boyfriend DJ (Marcus Scribner), who ends up being Sylvia’s main source of support.
“With a keen eye for details, Msangi explores how our differences can also bind us.”
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine singes the screen in a deeply expressive performance that shows a lost man attempting to reconnect with his family and himself. Lawson is fierce, magnetically reticent, and a fabulous dancer; she’s a star in the making. Jah may have the toughest role of the three, and she hits it out of the ballpark, imbuing it with both sorrow and humor. “My pastor said we must…familiarize ourselves in spirit and flesh in order to rebuild our family,” she says when Walter discovers her nude in his room.
“Papa, do you love us?” Sylvia asks. “You have to make a life for us, right?” Yes, he does, and yes, ultimately, love conquers all. Those willing to overlook the deliberate pacing are in for a warm and memorable experience. Though Farewell Amor is not a “dance movie”, it’s primarily about that moment when we dance – when everything else falls away, Amor takes over, and we bid our troubles farewell.
Farewell Amor screened at the 2020 AFI Fest.
"…about that moment when we dance, when everything else falls away, Amor takes over, and we bid our troubles farewell."
