Culture Representation: The documentary film “Searching for Amani” features a predominantly black African group of people (with a few white people) discussing the 2019 unsolved murder of Kenyan nature conservancy employee Steven Ali Apetet while he was working on the job and the conflicts over land occupation that seemingly led to his murder.
Culture Clash: Steven’s middle child Simon Ali, who is an aspiring journalist, investigates his father’s murder but experiences many obstacles.
Culture Audience: “Searching for Amani” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching documentaries about true crime and rural African culture.
Levis Ali and Simon Ali in “Searching for Amani” (Photo courtesy of Backroads Pictures and RandomGood Films)
“Searching for Amani” is an emotionally impactful documentary about a teenage journalist’s quest for the truth about his father’s unsolved murder in Kenya. The movie also examines conflicts between native Kenyans and wealthy white land owners. On another level, the documentary is an observation of how climate change and a severe drought in Kenya turned land occupation into a deadly crisis.
Directed by Debra Aroko and Nicole Gormley, “Searching for Amani” had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, where Aroko and Gormley won the Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director. The word “amani” means “peace” in Swahili. It’s reportedly the last word that Steven Ali Apetet said when he was shot to death on October 15, 2019. He was 41 years old. At the time he was murdered, Apetet was working at his job as a tour at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy.
No suspects or persons of interest have been named in this murder case. There were witnesses (including three tourists who were with Apetet) but they have not been able to identify the killer or killers. The most popular theory is that the killer or killers belonged to a group of pastoral herders who were in conflicts with the Laikipia Nature Conservancy owners about using the conservancy’s land to herd and feed animals.
“Searching for Amani” was filmed with Apetet’s middle son Simon Ali, an aspiring journalist, was 13 years old. The other people in Simon’s tight-knit and loving family include his widower mother Lucy and his siblings (listed in order from eldest to youngest) sister Faith, brother Ken, brother Levis and sister Charlene. Simon is the middle child and is the voiceover narrator for the documentary. At one point, Levis is tasked with doing some of the interviewing in the investigation because he’s older than Simon and is allowed to travel to certain places while Simon has to stay in school.
Apetet is described as kind, hard-working “peacemaker,” who took this job at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy (which is about 100,000 acres of land) so he could afford to send his children to good schools. Apetet has been an employee at the conservancy for about 20 years and was shot in the morning, near the beginning of his works shift that day. In voiceover narration, Simon says that people tell him that out of all of his siblings, his personality is the most like his father’s personality.
Simon comments, “Everyone in my family wants justice. Why did they want to kill him?” Simon’s investigation includes interviews with several people, including some of his father’s former co-workers and Laikipia Nature Conservancy owner Sveva Makena Gallmann, whose mother Kuki Gallmann bought the conservancy. The former co-workers interviewed include mechanic Enock Nodkia, security officer Isaac Kateiya, lodge staffer Frederick Gikandi Kamuri and botanist Thomas Olekaichu. One of the most compelling parts of the documentary is when one of the tourist witnesses is tracked down and interviewed.
Simon (who comes from a farming family) gets support from his best friend/schoolmate Haron Lenges, who comes from a pastoral herding family. During the filming of the documentary, Simon sees Lenges’ family go through hardships because of the drought. It helps Simon have a more personal understanding of pastoral herders feeling desperate to use land to keep their herds alive. Simon’s father had many responsibilities in his job. One of them was to remove trespassers.
It’s mentioned in the documentary that the journalist Simon whom admires the most is Kenyan TV journalist/talk show host Jeff Koinange, who hosts the talk show “Jeff Koinange Live” on Citizen TV. Koinange is known for his investigative work in social and political issues, especially those pertaining to Africa. A montage epilogue in “Searching for Amani” show what happens in Simon’s quest to eventually meet Koinange.
“Searching for Amani” has cinematography by Simon Ali, Campbell Brewer and co-director Gormley. Simon, who is intelligent and inquisitive, clearly had a passion for journalism and has a bright future ahead in this profession. The family’s heartbreak over not knowing the full story of what happened in this tragic murder might never go away. However, “Searching for Amani” is a testament that Simon and the rest of his family are admirably carrying out the wonderful legacy of their departed family member who was taken way too soon from them.
Culture Representation: Taking place in northern Kenya, the documentary film “Between the Rains” features an all-African group of people in rural villages.
Culture Clash: The Turkana-Ngaremara community and the Samburu community have conflicts with each other over thefts and dwindling resources during a drought, while the younger of two brothers is constantly challenged to prove his masculinity.
Culture Audience: “Between the Rains” will appeal primarily to viewers who are interested in watching documentaries about how people are affected by climate change.
Kole Achucka in “Between the Rains” (Photo by Andrew H. Brown)
The documentary “Between the Rains” tells a compelling parallel story of rivalries between communities and rivalries between two brothers during a tension-filled drought period in Kenya. One of the highlights of the movie is its impressive cinematography. “Between the Rains” had its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Festival, where it won the prizes for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature.
Directed by Andrew H. Brown and Moses Thuranira, “Between the Rains” was filmed over four years in northern Kenya. (The specific years are not mentioned in the documentary, but the mobile phones shown in the movie indicate that filming started in the late 2010s.) Brown is also the documentary’s cinematographer. Thuranira is a native of Kenya.
The cinéma vérité-styled “Between the Rains” is told from the perspective of a teenager named Kole Achucka, who was 13 years old when the movie began filming. Kole (pronounced “koh-lay”) and his older brother Patrick Achucka (who was about 20 years old when the movie began filming) live in the pastoral community of Turkana-Ngaremara, also known as Turkana for short. Kole and Patrick have a brotherly relationship that goes through ups and downs during the course of the film.
Kole is the intermittent narrator of “Between the Rains,” which begins with this voiceover introduction from Kole: “Long before we became locked out on this cursed land, the Turkana lived in harmony with nature. We followed the rains, never settling long enough to burden the land. The colonizers and the other tribes of Kenya have tried to erase us, but our enemies’ fear of us has always crippled their efforts. Nature is the only power that can destroy us. It is a vindictive beast and the only thing worthy of our fear.”
During the course of “Between the Rains” (which is a brutally honest look at the effects of climate change), nature is not kind to the people in the documentary, due to a drought that has been plaguing the area. There are dwindling resources that have left many people in the area dead from diseases or starvation, or moving away in search of a better life. The mother and the grandmother of Kole and Patrick are dead. These two women were beloved members of the family. Kole (the more sensitive brother) still openly grieves for them. The father of Kole and Patrick is away, looking for work in the Kenyan countryside.
The brothers’ other family members who are in the documentary are their friendly aunt Veronica (who is the sister of their late mother) and Patrick’s adorable son, whose name is not mentioned in the movie. Patrick’s son is about 3 to 5 years old in the documentary footage. The mother of this child is not seen or mentioned in the documentary. Veronica says that the mother of Patrick and Kole was filled with goodness and taught them respect for nature.
Throughout the documentary, Patrick tries to teach Kole how to be a better hunter and warrior, but Patrick often grows frustrated because he doesn’t think Kole has what it takes to live up to Patrick’s ultra-macho standards. Patrick is considered an “alpha male” of the Turkana community. Patrick is both feared and respected. A recurring theme in “Between the Rains” is that Kole has to “prove” his manhood by going through some harsh rituals that will be very uncomfortable for many “Between the Rains” viewers to watch.
Kole says in the documentary: “I’m known as the boy that was born amongst the goats. I’m told that shepherding is the only path I’ll ever know.” He adds, “I wish my path led to a different life, but my brother says it’s not good to have childish dreams.”
Depending on your perspective, Patrick is a pessimist or a realist. There are multiple times in the movie where Patrick describes the land they live on as “cursed.” Patrick feels stifled by but also loyal to staying on this land. He tells Kole that they shouldn’t expect rain anytime soon. Patrick also repeatedly lectures Kole and tells him in various ways to “grow up,” such as when he tells Kole: “Put the innocence of childhood behind you.”
Because resources are scarce during this drought, nearby communities have gotten into fierce rivalries with each other that result in thefts of livestock and crops. A woman named Josephine is described as the “peacekeeper” of Turkana. She is often seen talking on her phone as she fields information about who has stolen what and where the stolen goods are. Josephine tries to act as a negotiator when she can.
Near the beginning of “Between the Rains,” several goats have been stolen from the Turkana community. Josephine is seen saying to an unidentified person on the phone: “The thieves will try to sell them [the goats] quickly in the market. If we don’t recover the stolen livestock, there will be violence. Our informants say that they’ve already sold some [goats], so it’s best if we intervene and outsmart the livestock thieves.
Patrick and a group of other Turkana men swiftly react when they find out that the thieves are members of the nearby Samburu community. Patrick and his cronies show up unannounced, retrieve the stolen goats, and proceed to rough up the men they suspect of stealing the goats. Some of the men quickly confess and beg for mercy. The suspected thieves are forced to get into a truck. The documentary doesn’t show or tell what happened to these suspected thieves, who are never seen in the movie again.
Kole says that he places a high value on spirituality and nature. He explains, “Our god is called Akuj—the spirit of nature. Our god is the blessing of rain and water. When nature is happy, we live in peace, without fear. But between the rains, the river dries, and neighbors become enemies. I’m not afraid of our enemies. I only fear nature.”
Sensitive viewers should be warned that there are multiple scenes in the documentary that show animals being killed for various reasons. One of the reasons is for doing a ritual where a goat is killed so that a local shaman can “read” the goat’s intestines to determine what nature’s prophecy is. In scientific terms, it’s like doing an amateur autopsy to see the qualities of what the goat ingested. Another animal-killing ritual, which is described as “the most important” ritual, is the asapan: when a warrior becomes a respected elder. This asapan ritual involves drinking animal blood.
“Beyond the Rains” also shows that although there is some modern technology in the Turkana community, the gender roles are still steeped in ancient traditions. The men are the physical protectors and hunters, while the women are in charge of food preparation and child rearing. There are some exceptions, of course. Patrick appears to be a single parent, and he is loving and nurturing in raising his son. Kole is also a doting uncle to this child. But given Patrick’s staunch machismo, it’s hard not to speculate if Patrick would be as attentive to this child if the child were a girl.
There is a lot of cruelty in the rituals that the Turkana men go through to “prove” their manhood. In one hazing ritual, Kole is forced to kill his favorite pet sheep. In another ritual, Kole is held down while some men in the group remove one of his teeth. They order him not to cry, or else they’ll make things worse. Kole’s attackers wanted to remove more teeth, but Kole puts a stop to it. He is then jeered at and insulted for being a “wimp.”
In this community, male crying is considered an act of weakness that could make a man or a boy a social outcast in this community. When Kole cries, he does so silently and as far away from other people as possible. Kole also visits his grandmother’s grave on his own. These are things that observant viewers of the documentary will notice without any intrusive talking head “experts” weighing in with their comments.
It’s pretty obvious that Patrick is not the type of person who talks about his feelings of grief, so he and Kole do not have a close brotherly bond where they can open up to each other about their deepest emotions. Luckily, Kole has his aunt Veronica, who seems to be emotionally available to him if Kole ever needs to talk about his feelings. But in this community, Kole has to be careful about how he is perceived when it comes to his masculinity, or the men in the community could make his life miserable.
There’s also a hint that drug abuse could be a problem. A scene in the movie shows Patrick ordering Kole to snort an unidentified white powder when they’re alone together in a hut. This drug use is shown once in the documentary and never discussed again. It’s hard to know how often Patrick and Kole ingest whatever substance they snorted because a lot of the footage that was filmed over four years was no doubt edited out of the documentary.
“Between the Rains” has striking nature shots that show the dichotomy of the beauty of this natural land but also the ravaged devastation of a drought. It’s also a poignant coming-of-age-film about a boy who has to forge his identity as a man under some very tough conditions. Many people around the world live in a bubble of modern technology conveniences and think climate change is far removed from their lives. “Beyond the Rains” is a jarring look at the environmental damage for the people who live on the front lines of climate change and can’t afford to escape from where they live. They are part of our ecosystem warning that rural people in underdeveloped countries aren’t the only ones who are going to suffer from climate disasters.
Culture Representation: Taking place in Kenya, the dramatic film “Endangered Species” features a cast of white Americans and black Africans (with a few Asians) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: An American family’s safari vacation in Kenya turns into a nightmare when they’re stranded in a deserted area and become the targets of wild animals and other dangers.
Culture Audience: “Endangered Species” will appeal primarily to people who like watching moronic “family in peril” movies.
Jerry O’Connell (pictured in front) in “Endangered Species” (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)
“Endangered Species” is an example of what not do when going on a safari and what not do when making a movie thriller about it. The film’s intended preachy message about poaching is overshadowed by the idiotic story. “Endangered Species” wants to have a social conscience about saving animals’ lives, but it makes the human characters so dimwitted, the humans put their own lives in danger and barely know how to save themselves. The movie makes a genuine effort to be suspenseful, but that effort is wasted on a poorly conceived plot, low-quality visual effects and subpar acting from some of the cast members.
“Endangered Species” was directed by MJ Bassett, who co-wrote the movie with her daughter Isabel Bassett, a co-star in “Endangered Species.” Isabel Bassett’s previous acting credits were two other films directed by MJ Bassett: 2009’s “Solomon Kane” and 2020’s “Rogue.” It’s proof that nepotism is alive and well but isn’t always beneficial. Isabel Bassett’s questionable acting skills in “Endangered Species” (including letting her British accent slip through when she’s supposed to have an American accent) lowers the quality of this already tacky film.
In “Endangered Species,” the Halsey family are Americans who are supposed to be having a fun-filled vacation in Kenya. They’ve arrived just outside of Amboseli National Park to take a safari. The people in the Halsey family tourist group are:
Jack Halsey (played by Philip Winchester), an arrogant “control freak” patriarch who always thinks he’s the smartest person in the room. Jack is a high-ranking executive at an unnamed oil company, which has recently put him on an unpaid leave of absence, pending an investigation into a major oil spill on the Dakota pipeline. The oil spill happened under Jack’s supervision.
Lauren Halsey (played by Rebecca Romijn), Jack’s wife of 16 years. She’s a diabetic who used to be a medical doctor, but she left her career behind to become a homemaker. She’s a lot more nurturing and more patient than Jack is. Jack and Lauren each has a child from a previous relationship. It’s implied that Jack’s and Lauren’s exes haven’t been involved in raising these children.
Zoe Halsey (played by Isabel Bassett), Lauren’s 18-year-old daughter/Jack’s stepdaughter. Much to Jack’s dismay, Zoe has recently dropped out of MIT and is now working at a vegan coffee shop. Lauren is more understanding about it and thinks Zoe has a right to find her own path in life and make her own decisions.
Noah Halsey (played by Michael Johnston), Jack’s son/Lauren’s stepson, who’s about 16 or 17 years old. Noah has recently come out as gay, which is something that Jack has a hard time accepting.
Billy Mason (played by Chris Fisher), Zoe’s hippie boyfriend, who’s about 10 years older than Zoe. This age difference bothers Jack, who disapproves of Billy because Jack thinks Billy is a bad influence on Zoe. Jack also didn’t really want Billy on the trip, but Zoe invited Billy without checking with Jack first.
When the Halsey party travels by a small private plane to Kenya, there’s some stereotypical family bickering. Jack would prefer to have a relaxing vacation, while Lauren wants a more activity-oriented trip. She tells Jack their previous vacations where they just sipped drinks by a beach were too boring for her. “We want an adventure,” she reminds Jack. He replies, “I don’t like how this family has become a democracy all of a sudden.” Lauren says, “It was a velvet coup, honey. You never noticed.”
It won’t be long before Lauren will have a real reason to be annoyed with with Jack. After they check into their hotel resort lodging in Kenya, she finds out about Jack being suspended from his job, when he should have told her earlier. Because he currently has no income, an embarrassed Jack tells Lauren that they can’t afford many of the things that he promised that they could do on this trip. He tries to convince her that they don’t need to worry about money, but Lauren doesn’t really believe him.
Meanwhile, Jack is the type of parent who is overly critical of his kids, who can never do enough to please him. Zoe is particularly resentful of Jack, and they clash with each other the most on this trip. Even though Jack has raised Zoe since she was a toddler, she has recently refused to acknowledge that he’s her father. She’s stopped calling him Dad and now calls him Jack. It’s a snub that really bothers Jack.
When the Halsey party members arrive at their lodging, they meet a fellow American who’s hanging out in the lobby area with some locals. The American’s name is Mitch Hanover (played by Jerry O’Connell, Romijn’s real-life husband), who is some type of park ranger. Mitch says that he patrols the area to be on the lookout for poachers.
And what do you know, just as the Halsey party arrives, they happen to see an all-female group of Kenyan law enforcement officials dressed in military fatigues drive up with a group of poachers who’ve been arrested. Mitch explains that the people responsible for busting poachers in this area all happen to be women. It’s the first clue that this movie is trying to pander to a certain political agenda, by going overboard with unrealistic scenarios, just so the movie can look politically liberal and “woke.”
Jack pre-paid for the vacation, but because he couldn’t afford the deluxe vacation package, he and the rest of the people in the Halsey party cannot go on the guided safari tour as part of the package. The safari leader tells Jack that he’s more than welcome to do a separate, self-guided tour with his family. It’s another huge unrealistic aspect of the movie, because no reputable hotel or safari company would allow a group of tourists to have an unguided safari in the wilds of Africa.
But there would be no “Endangered Species” movie if it didn’t have this ludicrous concept. Jack doesn’t tell his family the real reason why they can’t go on a safari with the rest of the tour group. Instead, he lies to them and says that he took the option for them to have a self-guided tour because it will give them more freedom. Although a few people in the family express doubts about how safe it would be to do a safari on their own, Jack dismisses any fears and says that they wouldn’t be allowed to do a self-guided tour if it weren’t safe.
Zoe has brought bottled water for this safari trip. Because she’s a hardcore environmentalist, she has refused to bring water in plastic bottles, so the water is in glass bottles. And it’s that this point in the movie that you know those glass bottles are going to get broken when the Halsey family inevitably gets stranded in the desert. Lauren’s blood sugar levels have been running high, so you know exactly what that means in the inevitable race against time to get help.
And so off the Halsey party goes to this doomed safari, with Jack driving their rented van. They go without looking at a map, and there’s no sense that they’ve gotten any training in survival skills. In fact, “no sense” are the operative words for this entire movie, as these irresponsible tourists make one bad decision after another when they get trapped in a deserted area.
When their van gets to a checkpoint to enter Amboseli National Park, the guard makes them wait because the Halsey party doesn’t have the approved paperwork to go on a safari. Jack is determined to go on this safari so he can look like a heroic adventurer to everyone. Jack starts arguing with the guard to let him and his group through the checkpoint.
Just then, the guard is distracted because another group of tourists is causing a ruckus. Jack uses that distraction as an opportunity to barrel through the checkpoint barrier and drive quickly into the park without getting caught. Although some of the security guards give chase in their cars, Jack manages to lose them by going off the beaten path into a deserted area.
And that’s why viewers won’t feel much sympathy for Jack when he gets lost and can’t find his way back to the main road. At first, no one panics over it because there are no dangerous animals in sight. There’s also plenty of food and water to keep them comfortable for the entire day.
And then, they see a mother rhino with a baby rhino. These tourists start “oohing” and “aahing,” as they take pictures from the van. But they’re too close for this mother rhino’s comfort, and she charges angrily at the van, and rams it hard several times, thereby tipping the car over on its side before running off with her baby. In the mayhem, Jack injures his leg, and Zoe dislocates her shoulder.
There’s enough damage that everything breakable in the van has been broken, including Lauren’s diabetic supplies and the glass bottles holding the water. The van is too damaged and won’t start. And, of course, their phones can’t get any signals. Meanwhile, these dumb tourists have a map, but they have no idea where they are in the park, since they drove off into a deserted area that isn’t near the main road.
There’s some back-and-forth arguing over whether or not they should stay in the car and wait for help or venture out and look for help before it gets dark. Jack is adamant that they stay in the car because he’s certain that other people will come along and eventually find them. He’s also concerned about being attacked by more wild animals and thinks the car will at least give them some protection. However, Lauren could go into a diabetic coma if she doesn’t get insulin soon, which gives more urgency to the idea of walking somewhere to get help.
While they’re trying to figure out what to do next, that’s when some hyenas appear. The rest of the movie goes exactly how you think it might go when people make more stupid decisions. There’s an inevitable part of the movie where some members of this tourist party get separated from the others. And there are more animal attacks in scenes where the visual effects don’t look convincing.
The wild animals aren’t the only dangers encountered in this trip from hell. There’s a plot twist in the last third of the film that is not surprising at all. (The trailer for “Endangered Species” reveals this plot twist.) It leads to a ridiculous, badly acted showdown where the movie, which was already terrible, goes off the rails to the point of mindless oblivion. Romijn and Johnston make attempts to portray believable characters, but all the other stars in the cast act like annoying caricatures.
The best things that can be said about “Endangered Species” are that there are some nice scenic outdoor shots of Kenya, and the movie tries to bring attention to the tragedies and injustices of poaching. It’s too bad that “Endangered Species,” which has a moralistic message about how humans should respect nature, is ruined by humans who don’t respect good filmmaking and don’t respect viewers’ intelligence.
Lionsgate released “Endangered Species” on digital and VOD on May 28, 2021, and on Blu-ray and DVD on June 1, 2021.
