In a small Ghanian fishing community perched on the edge of a colossal landfill live two boys trying to come to terms with the death of their older brother in Amartei Armar’s Tsutsue. Okai (Kirtson-Acquah Elisha) and Sowah (Idrissu Tontie Jr.) spend their time playing among the mounds of refuse, refashioning unwanted items into costumes and guns, while their father works. They seem playful and happy, but there is a lingering sense of solemnity that transpires to be caused by the loss of their brother, hanging over them, and brought to the fore when Okai is convinced that a body is floating in the shallows.
Liminal spaces abound and interlock. On one hand is the literal coastline, where the ocean meets the shore; then there is the expanse of the landfill, a place for things that have been discarded but are yet to be lost forever; finally, there is a spiritual liminal plain, in which the boys’ brother floats – bobbing into view but agonisingly out of reach. Armar places his film on the fringes of genre, as well. The costume made from rubbish that we first encounter Okai wearing has an almost Afrofuturist feel to it, while hints of magical realism occur throughout.
There’s a suggestion that Okai has often “been seeing strange things lately,” apparently occupying a role as the reclaimer of lost things both in an actual and a supernatural sense. His assertion about discovering his brother’s body in the ocean are dismissed by everyone, even Sowah; he is the seer cursed to be disbelieved by his village. However, the crux of Tsutsue is less about these folkloric flourishes than the central relationship. Their brother was clearly a key figure in the boys’ lives – a flashback recalls the swimming lesson in Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight – and the film is ultimately about Sowah’s journey to understanding the role he must now play in Okai’s life. Even as they traverse an eerie landscape, haunted by their loss, a path forward emerges from the darkness.
Director, screenplay: Amartei Armar
Cast: Kirtson-Acquah Elisha, Idrissu Tontie Jr., Vistor Incoom, Gabriel Narh Addo
Screenplay:
Cinematography: Fiifi Mensah, Joy Williams
Editors: Nobuo Coste, Nicolas Milteau
Music: Jan Vysocky
Sound: Jan Vysocky, Stéphane Rives
Producers: Ike Yemoh, Sébastien Hussenot
Production companies: AKA Entertainment (Ghana), La Luna Productions (France)
Venue: Official Short Competition, Cannes
In Ga
15 minutes
