Flame (1996 film)
| Flame | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ingrid Sinclair |
| Produced by |
Joel Phiri Simon Bright |
| Starring | Marian Kunonga Ulla Mahaka |
| Distributed by | California Newsreel |
|
Running time
|
85 minutes |
| Language | English |
Flame is a controversial 1996 war film directed by Ingrid Sinclair, produced by Joel Phiri and Simon Bright, and stars Marian Kunonga and Ulla Mahaka. It was the first Zimbabwean film since independence set during the Rhodesian Bush War, and served as a tribute to the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army's many female guerrillas.
In 1975, Florence, an impulsive young peasant girl from the Mashonaland countryside, decides to run away and join the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) after her father is detained by the Rhodesian Security Forces. She and her friend Nyasha subsequently brave the dangers of the African bush on a long trek to a refugee camp in neighbouring Mozambique, where they are trained as militants by ZANU's insurgent wing, ZANLA. Both adopt new revolutionary identities: Nyasha becomes Liberty, representing her desire for self-sufficiency, while Florence brands herself Flame, representing passion.
Life in the Mozambican refugee camps is hard: Flame and Liberty must learn to deal with the hardship and constant dangers of insurgent life. To complicate matters, some unscrupulous male guerrillas - such as Comrade Che, a ZANLA political commissar, assume that female members of the party would be available to satisfy their sexual desires. When Flame rejects his advances, Che rapes and impregnates her with his child.
Although naturally devastated, Flame reconciles with Che and is shattered when he and their son are killed by a Rhodesian air strike. Determining she has nothing to live for but the conflict, Flame goes on to distinguish herself during ZANLA raids on farms and infrastructure. Zimbabwean independence in the 1980s proves bittersweet for Flame, who finds it difficult adjusting to civilian life. Under Robert Mugabe's new government, rural unemployment is rising, thousands continue to migrate to urban areas in search of work, and many ZANLA veterans - including Flame's new husband - feel disillusioned or ignored. Flame relocates to Harare, where Liberty has used her background as an intelligence officer to secure a lucrative administrative post, although their reunion is short-lived: Flame wants assistance but Liberty no longer believes in the collectivist principles of mutual support and shared purpose once preached by ZANU during the bush war.
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