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Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek
(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Deron Albright
Written by: Yao B. Nunoo
Starring: Yao B. Nunoo, Fred Amugi, Abena Takyi and Sandy Arkhurst

Aaron Bowen’s cinematography and actor Yao B. Nunoo’s dramatic change in hairstyle immediately render in the audience the feeling of watching a dreamer lost. The film’s writer and star soulfully portrays Boniface, a member of Ghana’s police force who seeks to (but is denied the opportunity to) return to an America about which he’s fantasized since his youthful voyage there a decade earlier. As a result, this is a man compelled by circumstance to use his connections in law enforcement to acquire a fraudulent visa to his land of opportunity.

Within a minute, however, Boniface’s bag is stolen from him, its theft transforming the officer into a committed force for whom the lines of right and wrong are all but disappearing. Boniface’s Ghana is a picture of corruption, where one is forced to part with cash to incentivize adults and to dole out candy to extract information from children. Reminded by his uncle that “a leopard’s destiny is different from that of lesser animals,” Boniface is faced with contemplating his position in the world (his colleagues also refer to him as a mere “dog”).

From one city of Ghana to another, and from one group of disparate dwellings to a larger city swept up in forgeries of all manner, the screenwriter attributes to his terrain the corrupt bent with which the continent is often tainted. Still, the city of Accra isn’t portrayed in darkness; rather, the film invokes an honest sentiment by dealing with crime in the blinding light of day.

“Destiny” is burdened with, but not besieged by, some contrivances in the film’s plotline and dialogue but is otherwise blessed by its filming on location in Ghana free from the sterility of big-budget set dressing. Having an insider pen the script also bears fruit with more than one shared moment of political clarity.

Boniface is haunted by flashbacks to life as a cab driver in New York City, and the most interesting thematic conversation in the film is its concept of home. For many outside big cities, as for many outside Western countries, ambition means leaving one’s birthplace to explore the well-marketed opportunities elsewhere. For an individual to consider committing to a city run by, or overrun with, those of lesser aspirations, a battle must be waged.

Both Nunoo and first-time feature director Deron Albright reveal, with a thoughtful sensitivity, that freedom and peace are not just political constructs but personal ones also. “The Destiny of Lesser Animals” subtly and successfully suggests that we must consider where our real home lies.

Photo courtesy the Los Angeles Film Festival