By: Amanda Guarragi
What many don’t realize is the stress that comes with ageing parents. For the later half of their lives, their mind changes and they grow weaker by the second. After a long life with your parents, it’s only right to look after them in their time of need. But, there are plenty of strained relationships and in the end; it’s out of moral obligation to help them and not genuine love. In God’s Country, we see Sandra (Thandiwe Newton) who has just lost her mother. She has always tried to please her mother and she was never satisfied. Her mother drained her and made her feel inadequate, which then translated into every aspect of her life. So, she’s tired. On top of that she has had to navigate the challenging politics and power dynamics at the college where she teaches. And then there is the racism, sexism, and toxic masculinity she encounters wherever she goes.
God’s Country examines one woman’s grieving process and determination to be taken seriously amid her refusal to surrender to the confines of society. This film would not have worked without Thandiwe Newton as Sandra. The emotional depth and brewing anger that she was able to bring to this role definitely worked with the pacing of the film. At first, once we get to know Sandra and her current environment, it moved a bit slow. While she processes her grief and the sense that she can finally live for herself without scrutiny, she begins to change. She’s more forthright and she speaks her mind on issues that are affecting her daily life in her community and the future of the education system. It’s simply about a woman reaching her breaking point because she doesn’t know how to express herself while grieving.
The structure of the story was interesting as well. The choice of bookmarking Sandra’s days after her mother’s passing is similar to the Bible story of how God created Earth. Each passing day was a lesson, and each day had a moment of dealing with her grief. The situation with her community members was a distraction from her mother and as the story goes on it became more evident that she just wanted to let her anger out on someone. Those two men, just so happened to be in her crossfire and they ended up being exactly what Sandra needed to get some justice in her own world. After going through so much, she finally rested on the seventh day and was at peace with her decisions.
God’s Country directed by Julian Higgins is a slow burn that has a great character piece at its centre for Thandiwe Newton. She made you connect with Sandra on many levels because of everything she was going through all at once. The film also did not feel preachy in regards to the issues being presented at the school or even when she approached the two men who were giving her trouble. It is a well-written script that wraps these themes together to show that one woman can take on so much while going through her own personal issues. This is also an example of not fully knowing what someone else could be going through and to always be kind to everyone.
Candid Cinema 