During Apartheid, South Africans who were denied access to mainstream entertainment would go to their local theaters to see a variety of very modest, very low-budget movies that were made just for them.
These films quickly sank into obscurity and most are now lost, but a handful have been rescued from oblivion and released by IndiePix under their "Retro Afrika" DVD label.
While some were so amateurishly made as to barely qualify as feature films, others manage to rise above the rest of the pack and are quite watchable and sometimes quite entertaining. This is especially true in the case of the raucous comedy UPONDO & NKINSELA (1984), perhaps my favorite of all the Retro Afrika films that I've seen so far.
Composed of 13 short vignettes, it's the story of a mismatched duo named Upondo and Nkinsela (played with unpolished but energetic aplomb by Ndaba Mhlongo and Masoja Mota) who bumble their way through life trying to either succeed in various unlikely occupations or get the better of some gullible mark (which invariably backfires on them).
Tall, lanky Upondo, he of the missing front teeth and ever-present trenchcoat and fedora he inherited from his father's grandfather's grandfather, usually gets the two into trouble while the short, relatively smarter Nkinsela (who reminds me of a young Redd Foxx) struggles to get them out of it.
The vignettes are basically blackout sketches with simple plots and hardly any resolutions--they show our heroes getting in hot water for awhile before moving right on to the next one--and are so slapstick silly, with such over-the-top performances, that they can't help but generate a fair amount of genuine hilarity at times.
The first segment introduces us to the guys as Upondo tries to pass his driving test but is defeated by the parallel-parking task. Next, we see them with their own taxi service, as an attempt to transport a bride and groom to their wedding on time ends in mud-splattered disaster.
Subsequent misadventures include a stab at hairstyling, failed efforts to become television repairmen and door-to-door shoe salesmen, performing in a talent show, and an attempt to earn some quick cash as pool sharks.
Other tales involve Nkinsela getting his finger stuck in a cigarette machine and a harrowing brush with gangsters in which they end up out in the woods digging their own graves at gunpoint.
Technically, the film is slightly below the standards set by Ed Wood, yet compared to most films of its genre it's quite well done. The pace is never allowed to lag as we go briskly from one segment to the next and the main characters are always likable and sympathetic even at their most obnoxious.
If you've never seen one of these Retro Afrika films, UPONDO & NKINSELA is an ideal place to start. If you're already a fan of this unusual and often fascinating brand of rock-bottom-budget filmmaking, chances are this one will become one of your favorites too.
Release date: December 15, 2020
Available from Amazon on DVD and Prime Video
Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.72 Ounces
Media Format : NTSC
Run time : 1 hour and 12 minutes
Release date : December 15, 2020
Actors : Various
Studio : Indiepix
ASIN : B08FTHQBBS
Number of discs : 1
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