Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Samuel, Alex
Intro:
… an essential film for those that care about the international queer community and a substantial reminder that rights for marginalised groups do not exist globally.
I Am Samuel, Peter Murimi’s documentary on the challenges faced by a gay man in Kenya is a powerful testament to love and resilience in the face of societal homophobia. The film is by turns uplifting and chilling in its depiction of how gay people are persecuted in the country, and the methods individuals employ to survive and celebrate their sexuality.
Filmed over five years, Murimi opens early with his thesis. In a peaceful and beautiful natural environment with flowing waterfalls in the background, Samuel and his soulmate Alex are introduced. Murimi cuts to a filmed violent attack on one of his gay friends in Nairobi. The voiceover explains existing Penal Code 162, which states that ‘unnatural relationships’ are punishable by up to fourteen years imprisonment – a code that was introduced by the British and was not overturned on challenge in 2019.
By focusing on one man’s life, Murimi creates a powerful but restrained portrait of a universal trial that queer Kenyan men of a certain class encounter. Samuel is from a farming family in West Kenya and his escape to Nairobi, where he barely ekes out a living working two jobs, is shown to be a small kind of freedom. Murimi films Samuel and his friends as they talk about how they cannot come out to their families. They laugh at how relatable each other’s stories are, but amidst the laughter is the harsh truth that these men cannot live an authentic life in the open.
Indeed, when Alex is outed to his family by his aunt, he is warned that his father may have paid people to “teach him a lesson.” Not only is Alex cut off from his family, he is also fearful of violent reprisal from them.
Samuel spends as much time as he can with his family on the farm, but his family is strictly patriarchal and unaware of his sexuality. Samuel’s father wishes for him to marry and return to the farming community as he is now ageing, and his wife is unable to work as much due to her diabetes. Samuel dutifully loves his family and also embraces their Christian faith. The pressure to conform to heteronormative expectations led Samuel to have a girlfriend at one time, which led to the birth of a daughter.
Much of the conflict in the documentary is dealt with in such a matter-of-fact manner that it feels like Murimi is underplaying the dangers the queer community in Kenya must deal with. When men break into Samuel’s apartment after he has come out to his family, it is his roommate that is beaten. The opportunity for Murimi to investigate whether Samuel’s own father sent men after him isn’t explored. Perhaps the violence and family ostracisation is just so common in the country that it hardly seems remarkable to those who live with it daily.
Other aspects that seem pertinent to the situation, such as fierce religiosity and the impact of post-colonialism, are also not given much weight. Samuel and his friends maintain their religious convictions despite the damage religion has done to queer expression. The documentary is banned in Kenya partly because it depicts Samuel engaged in preaching, which led the Church to claim that it is using religion to support gay marriage.
The heart of Murimi’s work is exploring how Samuel and Alex stay together despite social and familial opposition. Although Samuel’s father doesn’t communicate with him after he reveals he is gay, there is a slow path towards reconciliation and acceptance driven by Samuel’s mother.
Both Samuel and Alex have relocated to Europe after the filming of the documentary fearing for their safety in Kenya. The loving moments that Murimi captures between them reveal the pair as a conventional couple who just happen to be gay. The strength of Murimi’s vision is that it does not sensationalise their partnership. The potential weakness of Murimi’s work is that it doesn’t go far enough to explore the society that has rejected them.
As a portrait of one man and his partner, I Am Samuel is a resonant piece of queer filmmaking that ends on a note of hope for the couple. As a documentary that acutely explores the prejudice that gay people face in Kenya, it is partially lacking a strong follow-through for the ideas it presents. Nonetheless, I Am Samuel is an essential film for those that care about the international queer community and a substantial reminder that rights for marginalised groups do not exist globally.
