Misnomer’s pursuit Of justice, freedom

Misnomer, Chaz Munthali’s latest movie is a window into a world of chaos, betrayal and mistrust.

Inspired by the bloody killings and attacks of persons with albinism, the movie, originally intended to be a documentary, depicts two sides of humanity—the dark and the bright side.

Humanity’s dark side is portrayed by the attacks, abductions and killings of persons with albinism. Their cries of horror pierce our ears and touch our hearts. On the other hand, humanity’s bright side is depicted by those who team up to fight for the rights of persons with albinism.

Just as the attackers’ ignominious actions draw tears from our eyes, the freedom fighters’ sacrifice to embark on a perilous quest to fight for justice makes us shed tears of joy. Doesn’t Edmund Burke say “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [people] to do nothing”?

Expectedly, the world of chaos is introduced right from the opening scene where a family of a girl with albinism prays before taking their meal. But no sooner had the members said “amen” than abductors run away with their child.

The tiny home in the remote area symbolises many others that have gone through such traumatic experiences. Thus, the opening scene sets the chaos in motion, leading to several abductions and attacks.

The second abduction happens when a girl with albinism, Sangwani, is betrayed by her father’s driver. The driver, who connives with attackers, deliberately drives the car into the hands of the killers.

The third attack takes place at a drinking joint, where Gent, a person with albinism, goes to spend free time.

Amid the terror unleashed on persons with albinism, the Interpol, led by Cecilia, is already in the thick of things. Fired up by her love for humanity, Cecilia sets up a team to bust the syndicate involved in the attacks, killings and abductions of persons with albinism.

She recruits her undercover team and starts the mission to fight for justice and freedom for persons with albinism.

Although the team’s initial investigations prove futile, they succeed in the end when they run into a witch doctor and her fellow attackers who are about to kill a person with albinism for money rituals.

The breakthrough depicts hope in the fight against injustice. It also shows that selfless people can help to reclaim a peaceful realm for persons with albinism.

Besides having a clear storyline, the actors converse naturally and effortlessly, making the movie easy to follow. Dialogue in movies just as in stage performance, advances the plot/action.

While on stage more emphasis may be on the use of gestures to capture the attention of the audience, in movies actors ought to play the characters without such gestures for mood is created through sound effects, sound track, facial expressions and expressions of emotions.

Therefore, in Misnomer, the actors embodied their characters well and understood the difference between acting in movies and on stage.

Another area the producer did justice to the movie is the execution of quality pictures in high definition and aerial views of Lilongwe City. It is argued that the picture is central for movies because people follow the story by watching the motion pictures. As such, a movie with poor pictures is a failed project.

On a higher level, the movie uses a lot of symbolism to depict the horror and mystery surrounding the abductions and killings of persons with albinism. The use of masks and cryptic tattoos, for instance, symbolises the puzzle Cecilia’s team is trying to solve to bust the syndicate.

On the downside, the movie is too long for a story whose aim is to critique society for betraying persons with albinism. The story could be told in 90 minutes. That way, other scenes that add little value to the plot were supposed to be deleted. In fact, short scripts do not bore people.

Another weakness is the failure to use flashbacks when the driver, suspected of having a hand in the abduction of Sangwani, narrates what happened before the girl was abducted.

The reason people watch movies is because the stories are told in motion pictures. Spectators are not expected to see actors narrate events for more than five minutes.

Nevertheless, Misnomer has succeeded in raising awareness about the plight of persons with albinism.