Debbie Wright Films releases Botshelo marara

GASEBALWE SERETSE
Staff Writer | Thursday April 29, 2010 00:00

The main characters in the 40-minute movie mainly set in Gaborone are Dineo (Grace Kgaola) and Joe (Petrus Mpete) who meet by chance when she (Dineo) is visiting her friend, Bonnie (Winnicah Ditlhako) and her (Bonnie's) boyfriend.

As soon as Joe sees Dineo, he decides she is the girl for him and abandons his long-time relationship with the mother of his children, Nkele (Keabetswe Ntlhabang).

Although Nkele tries by all means to fight for her man, it is clear she is fighting a losing battle, as it is clear that he is smitten with his new love. As the story unfolds, it looks like it is centred on Dineo and Joe, who are busy enjoying their newfound love to the fury of Nkele and her cronies. Perhaps one of the highlights of the film is when Joe and Dineo meet in Francistown and sleep in Kabelo's house in the absence of his (Kabelo's) disapproving girlfriend.  Kabelo's girlfriend comes the next morning and disrupts their escapades, chasing the lovebirds away. She also reminds Joe that he has left a family back in Gaborone. Dineo's mother is also against the relationship but Dineo decides to turn a deaf ear to her advice. At the end of the movie, Joe is seen marrying another woman and it is clear that he has deserted Dineo.  One of the most glaring flaws about the movie is that the script is poorly written and as a result both the plot and the characters are confusing. One would have thought that the producer would have engaged a scriptwriter who would have given his all in this first volume of an envisaged series because it is supposed to serve as a 'launch-pad' of the whole project. The storyline is very confusing and at the end the viewer would most definitely wonder what it is all about.  It is sad that the scriptwriter has butchered the potential of the movie and it is a pity that others involved in the project do not seem to have spotted the blemish.

As if that were not enough, some scenes are 'grainy' and the sound quality is poor at times.

One can only hope that in her next installments, Wright will up her game to attract more and more viewers to her series. Perhaps at the end of the day this says much about the state of film production in Botswana, which is not getting enough support from the government. This reviewer's best guess is that lack of funds forces our local producers to come up with substandard offerings, which is tragic.

The sleeve of the DVD is however well-designed though it captures promotional materials from yet to be released episodes.