The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind - Sustenance in Loss
Thoughts On: The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind (2019)
Made by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is the Malawi film of the series.
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is a powerful and articulate film capturing the real-life achievements of William Kamkwamba, who overcomes famine and draught by adapting local technology and creating a windmill that can help water and fertilise the land for the production of crops. Capturing the heart of innovation and outlining a touching notion of progress in rural Africa, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind finds success in an evocative narrative. Its ties to, and projection of, Malawi are grounded primarily in the true story. It presents some aspects of the culture and political mires of the country, but demonstrates a transnational, British influence in the structure and tone of the script and in its aesthetic and form. This, we can assume, would be due to Chiwetel Ejiofor's direction - who is British with Nigerian roots - as well the source of funding of the production: the BFI, BBC and Netflix. That is to say that one can sense the roots of this film are not in Malawi alone, but nonetheless retain a pan-African basis. And such is likely somewhat fitting, for this is a story about the globalisation of technology and knowledge in some ways.
At its base, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind exists in a space in which people are giving up on their land, culture and country. The village is on the verge exporting itself, the people, for hopes of a better life, abandoning its place in the world. Rural Malawi is thus captured as a barren and harsh landscape upon which life remains a gamble - which is in contrast to cities and nations with more stable democratic governments and more stable standards of living. It nonetheless presents within some of the people of this place a resilience and connection to their land. It is then from this that our main character develops; from the cradle of a dedicated and earnest family of farmers whose greatest evocation is to be honest to oneself. Such is what is instilled in William by his mother and father.
This family captures a dialectic common in developing nations tearing its people and their families between progress and tradition. The family uphold and sustain their ancestors' land; they also idealise their ability to remain strong together in face of the outside world. Yet, they also reject some traditions: especially the prayer for rain. They choose to remain practical, leaving their hopes not to God, instead taking primary responsibility for their future into their own hands. This is a very subtle aspect of commentary on Malawi culture, one that suggests the people must do more for themselves at the individual and familial level with what they have available at hand to progress. It presents in snippets Islamic and local cultural religious practices, but also holds these in slight contrast to schooling, science and education. In seeing William struggle and finally secure success in the production of his windmill that allows his family to farm smarter, we witness the film evoke the notion that one must lose to sustain. We thus see the family give up aspects of their culture - praying for rain and working the land - to send their children to school so that they may eventually embrace technology. The shedding of traditional practices and old ways is eventually shown to reinforce and refine them, reharmonising the family with the land, religion and culture.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind holds a central metaphor. The winds are a constant above the land of Malawi, just like the people themselves. The wind comes to then embody the nature of the people and country. It is in harnessing this, educating the people and shifting the way they engage the land, that that constant nature of Malawi - its essence as presented by its people and climate - reaches greater harmony. This movement toward harmony by shedding old ideas and practices and allowing them to develop and transform is echoed in the family structures. Nurturing and trusting his son sees the father of William develop, the family strength and their relationship develop harmony The sensation of such harmony is what makes. The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind a powerful and articulate film and most certainly one worth watching.
