Film Review: Farewell Amor Explores The Bonds of Family
Every time I go back to Puerto Rico, I feel close yet distant from it. This is where my family lives, where my ancestors made their story, and where my culture, values, and taste in music burst with creative flavor. Yet, I’m a New York City gal, and though both are apart of America, they are different worlds. Who I am in NYC is not the same as who I am in Puerto Rico. I thought about this as I watched the phenomenal Farewell Amor, which comes to streaming platforms on December 11. Written and directed by Ekwa Msangi, the film is a raw, rich tale on what it means to be an immigrant away from your family for nearly 2 decades and then have them, finally, reunite with you in your new homeland. Naturally, what ensues is a cultural and spiritual clash.
I didn’t bring up my PR reference for “fun,” I brought it up because Msangi’s script and direction adds nuance to how we discuss immigrants, “motherland,” and what it means to always love your culture and people but also grow away from them. Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) is a sweet, Angolan taxi driver that has spent the last 17 years trying to bring his wife and daughter to the states after having left them to escape the Angolan Civil War and make money to send back. Mwine does perfect to show how those 17 years made Walter become a more independent, peaceful man with a life filled with mini-adventures and another woman ((Nana Mensah as the sweet, supportive Linda). Thus, he is bound to his family by duty, blood, and a money order, but not in actual connection and common-ground. He goes from living happily in love with Linda to rediscovering who is his wife, Esther (Zainab Jah), and his teen daughter, Sylvia (Jayme Lawson).
Farewell Amor – Official Trailer | HD | IFC Films
While Walter is learning to adapt to having a family with him, Esther and Sylvia are adapting to their new world. Jah is exceptional as “fire and brimstone” Esther; a woman whose religiosity can be dark and off-putting, but also a point of strength and resilient belief that, in the end, “Heaven” does conquer. I have met “Esthers” in my life, and Jah is brilliant in showing these are not deranged, hard women as much as ladies that have had to make God their partner amidst trials like war and being a single parent in one. The way Jah plays Esther unpacking the history of Walter’s life without her is brilliant, especially as she tries to build a new life in NYC, which is not exactly charming her. Yet, at least, she gets a funny friend in the form of Nzingha (Joie Lee) to help her not completely breakdown with worry over her daughter.
Sylvia may hold a guard up for her father, Walter, but they both share a quietness to them that keeps them bonded even when they are not bonding. Lawson is radiant as Sylvia because she embodies a shy girl completely pushed out of her comfort zone, and plays her every move like a inner, emotional earthquake is stirring within her. The way she cries privately or coyly explores new friendships and first loves (Marcus Scribner as DJ) Seeing how she, along with Walter and Esther, are whirl-winded into being a “family,” after so much time, is fascinating because it makes the film an exploration on the importance of proximity to nurturing relationships. While Walter never forgot them and Esther and Sylvia always remembered him, the years of responsibility to each other, without physical contact, does not translate into love and joy once they are together again. Instead, the film boldly enters the emotionally messy territory of loving a family you wish you didn’t have anymore while also wishing they had always been by your side.
