Now his father is cursed and is suffering. To prevent his dying, a Sangoma is brought in, but the price of his treatment is to sacrifice Musa's cow, "while there is time". The consequence is another life lost and the family's precious cow is gone too. Musa is told by his grandmother: "Be brave, now you are a man." Has the curse now passed on to Musa? Before he died Musa's father gave him a drum, and it becomes his most serious personal possession.

It is decided that Musa must go to Johannesburg to seek his Uncle Mojala and ask him to contribute money so that they can buy another cow. Musa then makes a dramatic exit from his village, walking through beautiful country, passing three rhinos, giraffe, and all the images foreigners expect make up Africa.

At a crossroads Musa tries to get a lift from a truck driver, Nobert, or "Nobe" (acted by Owen Sejake) and is refused, so he hides out in the back of his truck. Nobe also refuses to use condoms, even though back in the city he has a wife and two daughters. The truck driver has just stopped to be entertained by a prostitute, giving Musa a chance to hide under his canvas on the truck bed.  When found, Nobe at first rejects Musa, and then later he is more accommodating, taking Musa all the way to his trucking company headquarters in the Golden City. The company, Trans Africa, is owned and run by Pieter Botha (played by Clive Scott). Pieter's son, Stefan is an advocate and campaigner for African rights. He also has HIV and AIDS, but apparently not from his glorious girlfriend Ntombi (Mary Twala).

After Pieter has driven him out of the premises of Trans Africa, thinking he is a rascal, Musa finds he is on his own. He is taken in by a gang of street kids and befriended by one of them, a young girl of far more experience and nearer his age, Letti (Nolatandu Maleke). Their message to Musa is that "you have to steal to survive". Musa would rather be honest, so he tries washing car windows at a robot. It is a way to make a little money, but not easy, nor is it fun, but Musa is able to pronounce afterwards, "See, you don't have to steal".

"There is a killer in the township. Come to Church. There is a meeting. There is a killer among us. It is killing our wives, our neighbours, and our children." To drum people up to attend this community meeting in a church Musa beats his drum and chants. Norbert speaks in the church hall. He expands further on what is happening in South Africa and concludes: "There is a killer among us. It is HIV and  AIDS. We are the children of the light. There are solutions ... this is what you can do about it. We will fight it with the truth."

Musa is taken to a shelter for street kids, but runs away. He is on the streets again. He learns that his uncle, whom he came looking for, has also died. After more adventures, he is helped along the way and eventually finds a place at Jabulani, a home for orphans. It is far better for Musa than being left for dead in the streets.In 2007 of people living with HIV and AIDS worldwide, at least 33 million; 70 percent or 23 million cases were in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a film that brings a number of messages home while telling a story dramatically. There is even a subplot of child abuse by a teacher that is handled carefully. This movie is carried by Junior Singo, who acting as Musa, does a good job. It is also beautiful filmed and there are some scenes that will stay with you, like when Nobe evicts Musa from his truck, and then his drum rolls out on the bed of the truck and Musa, seized by loss, begins to run so he won't lose his only possession. 

Best the Drum is 90 minutes long. It is rated 13+.  It is in isiZulu and English with sub-titles where required. The director is David Hickson. The script is by W, David McBrayer.

The editor is Mark Winitsky. The cinematographer is Lance Gewe. The music is by Klaus Badelt and Ramin Djawadi. They went on to work on Tsotsi that won an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film.
Email: sasa_majuma@yahoo.co.uk