directed by:
Stevan Lee Mraovitch written by: Stevan Lee Mraovitch genre: Drama |
I feel like I’d have to be some kind of monster not to like a movie with a title like this one has. One hundred percent. This dude, Saidou, has it TOUGH right now. Dude’s just out there on the road, peddling his life away, trying to do the best he can to make ends meet by delivering food to local patrons, likely for some kind of delivery app service that is slowly sucking the soul right out of him. As “Where There Is Love, There Is No Darkness” continues forward, we start to wonder if this might be more than just a job for him…like, maybe he’s not just peddling towards that next delivery, but away from something else. The look in his eyes is always intense…you can tell he’s got a lot on his mind and the weight of the world on his shoulders. From what we can see, he’s doing his best to make money for his lady Aminata and a child that’s clearly on the way. Things can be tough out there, no question about that.
The world of delivery service is a strange one without question. Not only do they deal with just about every kind of customer, including entitled A-holes that consistently believe they’re better than the people that bring them their food, so they don’t have to dirty their precious hands and cook, but from what you’ll see in this movie, they’re a fairly tight-knit community of their own. You’ll see Saidou take lunch with some friends who are also in the same business, and you’ll see him let his guard down for a moment to relax, because he’s finally with like-minded people who truly understand what he’s going through on a daily basis when it comes to his working hours. A crew full of migrants who believe God has put them there to work hard…I admire their mindset. I think most folks look at their lives in such a trivial way where it’s hard to find the purpose and meaning in so much of what we do, that it’s actually quite refreshing to see hardworking people, like you’ll see in this movie, put their hearts right into doing something that most people might not even consider to be important at all. You really see how hard it is to make ends meet. When Saidou has a decent week, it’s still not like he’s bringing home a ton of money, but he knows that every little bit counts. You see the pain of distance taking a toll on him - wherever he is, he’s a long way away from Aminata and his soon-to-be-born child. This is a good man, though. The kind you’d trust with your entire life - you know that whatever he’s doing, it’s all for a purpose. He remembers his daily prayers, he doesn’t require a lot of anything to live, and he doesn’t seem to want for anything more than to get back to his family as soon as possible. When some time passes, and he starts to worry Aminata by not reaching out as much as he used to, the stress of distance begins to creep into their relationship a little more. It’s enough to be concerning and take note of when the situation comes up, and it really starts to have us questioning the lengths that we would go through ourselves to take care of the ones we love. Obviously, everyone needs money - I think we all understand that - but at the same time, we need each other more than anything else, and no amount of money can replace the time we miss spending with our loved ones. What’s it all for if we don’t ever get to see them? I can’t imagine how hard the life of someone like Saidou’s must be. If he and his friends don’t get paid, then their families back home don’t eat – it’s literally that simple and yet that crucial…and when their boss suddenly goes missing, they realize they’re all in serious financial trouble. They clearly don’t know a whole lot of people in the city aside from each other and their boss, Mr. Chen, and when they miss that first important paycheck, you can see the pain on their faces as they ride away on their bikes, so unsure of what their next move will even be. The pressure mounts by the second in a situation like this; the isolation and the unknown would be incredibly hard to experience.
Like, even though I’m not a faith-based type of person in terms of what religion tends to offer, I can still fully understand what it would be like to have to question what your beliefs are. How long is Saidou supposed to hold out and hold on? He’s broke, he owes money, and even the people that theoretically could help him won’t do it without him paying for the information he needs…he’s got medical bills piling up quickly back home…it’s all very taxing to even watch, let alone BE in his situation. Many of us live our lives paycheck to paycheck, but we all take it for granted that the next check is actually going to be there, but what if it wasn’t? You can certainly imagine the stress…you know how quickly the money would run out…and then, what’s the next move? That’s what we’re wondering as we watch Saidou and his friends try to navigate these uncharted waters. “Where There Is Love, There Is No Darkness” is scary in an emotional way that you don’t often feel as you’re watching a movie…you just want it all to work out. I don’t think I would be capable of just assuming that God has a plan and things will all be fine while being under such distress. I’ll admit, it’s inspiring to see the resilience of Saidou in such trying times. This is ultimately his story, and we spend the most time with Saidou as the movie plays on. Oumar Diaw deserves the lion’s share of the credit as to why this movie works as well as it does – not only does his character have all the weight on his shoulders, but the actor playing Saidou does too. The man delivers a master-class with his acting - from pain to confusion, kindness and faith, he puts in an exceptional performance that will rekindle your faith in humanity. Even at his lowest, when he really needs money more than ever, he befriends an old man who is seriously struggling and helps him out, and yet even when the old man offers to pay him, Saidou refuses to take anything. The real payment was seeing the spark come back into the old man’s eyes…the kind of priceless moment that money simply can’t buy. As we wait to find out if Saidou will ever make it back home, it’s these kinds of heartwarming scenes that keep us feeling like his good fortune is right around the corner. Good things happen to good people, right? Last I checked, that’s what we’re all supposed to believe in…and I felt like I needed some genuine confirmation of that when it came to watching this film written/directed by Stevan Lee Mraovitch. There were things I was less sure about along the way, like the bizarre use of effects towards the start of the film, for instance. They’re likely metaphorical, showing us how life is speeding by Malik right now while he himself is at a standstill, but I feel like we probably would have gotten the point as the film carried on without the use of a somewhat cheesy slow-motion blur. You’ll see it pop up again at one point, but it’s kind of the sparing use of the effects that makes it more of a distraction than something that enhances the scenes. Other than that minor issue, I felt pretty happy about the rest – the scenes are shot well, the acting is rock solid, the story is really well-thought out, and Mraovitch delivers a very sensory experience that we feel while we’re watching “Where There Is Love, There Is No Darkness.” We never really know whether or not things are going to work out for the better or worse as we watch this movie, and that speaks strongly on behalf of the clever way that Mraovitch has crafted this story. He puts us all in a position of trying to understand the depths of faith & humanity, but he’s also unafraid to throw us curveballs that will have watchers wondering just as much about its potential limitations as well. This movie, without a doubt, shows us the bonds of friendship, and how they can turn into being the bonds of family – it’s a special kind of magic that I can only hope each and every one of us gets to experience at some point in our lifetime. I’m going with a solid four stars out of five here – “Where There Is Love, There Is No Darkness” shows us a hard slice of life onscreen, while reminding us that every moment is meaningful. Bravo. |
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