Ndjeke Yamalimba back in cameo

By Rosalia David

ONE of Namibia’s much loved actors, Ndjeke Yamalimba is back on our screens in a new film titled ‘Uushimba’, in which he plays the role of an impatient bus driver driving from the northern part of the country to the city this time around.

Although the excitement grew at the beginning of the film when the famous Ndjeke Yamalimba appeared, sadly he is not seen again throughout the movie as the story centres on another young man played by Fillemon Ndongo, who embarks on a journey to find a better life in the capital with absolutely no knowledge of how quickly the fast life of the city can swallow him whole.

In the film, the actor Ndongo plays the role of Hangula, who is welcomed by his thuggish brother when he arrives in the capital, who then introduces the newcomer to the ‘thug life’ in Windhoek.

The movie takes viewers on the journey to see whether he fulfils his dream. The film gets into first gear with a dramatic scene in which Hangula is being chucked out of the bus for not paying the bus fare and later finds himself arriving in Windhoek on a truck.

On arriving in the city, he meets his brother Tangeni, who surely nailed the role of a real city thug throughout the movie. Although his role is quite serious too, it is evident that the director coated the whole narrative with a dark sense of humour.

The film also managed to realistically portray life in the lowest depths of Katutura while making it a point that “addiction to the street life could negatively have an impact on anyone’s life”, which often simply means ending up behind bars. The 24-minute film is scripted in Oshiwambo and looks like it was shot in the informal settlements around Windhoek.

Although the main influence came from his brother, from forcing him to smoke weed to basically being the lookout in the CBD while his brother and the rest of the crew rob a building, Hangula was just a village boy who wanted to be more than just a village boy, but soon found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time.

There is also a romantic thread to the storyline as Hangula meets a girl who introduces him to a competition, in which he takes part with high hopes.

Luck was just not on Hangula’s side when he first arrived in Windhoek but things take a turn for the better after he meets the girl who was distributing competition flyers in town. She spurs him on to become a better version of himself.

I feel it would have been better if it was made clear in the beginning what his motive for leaving home was, as it happened so fast without the audience knowing why he moved to the city in the first place.

I found the ending to be a bit of a let-down, but it was an interesting and relevant short film and I can recommend it to movie lovers out there. The film was supported by the Namibian Film Commission, directed by Khama Nakaduungile, produced by Gustav Nuuyoma and is well worth watching.

If you are looking for something else to watch to kill time during your time at home, there are also other good and well scripted local short films on Youtube as well.

Films such as ‘Looking for Iilonga, a story of a young man named Simon whose wife borrowed money from a loan shark and now he has to pay back the debt and then leaves his rural home to find work in the ruthless city, could be a great pick.

The story is 17 mins 42 secs long.

If you love romantic movies, you can also watch a story of love and betrayal love titled ‘Orange Juice’ and ‘Where There’s Smoke’.

‘Where There’s Smoke’ is about an ex-gunman sent to rescue a hostage from a dangerous criminal but unknown to him he gets followed by a mysterious man The story is 10mins 17secs long.

Meanwhile, there is also another interesting and eye catching short film titled ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’ featuring popular actor and business owner Chopsies.

‘Everything happens for a reason’ is based on a man whose girlfriend is leaving him, there is a strange man following and threatening him and his phone gets stolen. He tries to make things right but whatever he does he seems to be getting into more and more trouble. His actions take him to the Christus Kirche overlooking Windhoek, where he faces all his new enemies. When the police arrive at the scene he seems to be saved – or is he? The film is 14mins 32secs.