Life, Above All

Last updated on: February 27, 2013 at 6:07 am by Kendrick Kuo

Life, Above All 2013-02-27T06:07:42-07:00 Kendrick Kuo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Review of Life, Above All, Directed by Oliver Schmitz

By KENDRICK KUO

Rating: 7/10

Life, Above All is not a film for the faint of heart. This gut-wrenching South African film, adapted from Alan Stratton’s novel Chandra’s Secret, is a fictional thread in a very real piece of South Africa’s fabric—namely, children orphaned by AIDS. Chandra is a 12-year old girl, living with her mother and two younger siblings fathered by another man who is an alcoholic that returns to visit his children unexpectedly at random intervals. She lives in a village where gossip is the lifeblood of the community, especially when coupled with a heightened sense of propriety and pharisaism. Life, Above All gives us the story of Chandra, who must face adult challenges as a young girl, stare death in the face, and yet remain true to herself. More importantly, the film asks us to question our prejudices.

The opening scenes of Life, Above All show Chandra having to arrange a funeral for her youngest sibling, who died in infancy. We immediately see Chandra as a young girl forced to carry the responsibilities of a household’s head because her mother is incapacitated and both her father and her step-father gone. Mrs. Tafa, their next door neighbor, plays the role of a helpful aunt. Chandra’s mother is sick and they go to visit a doctor, but that doesn’t help. Eventually, building up to the climax of the film, her mother leaves for another village. In the meantime, Chandra takes in a girl who was forced into prostitution, much to Mrs. Tafa’s consternation and the scandalization of the village.

Chandra keeps on trying to contact of her mother via telephone to ascertain the date of her return, until it is revealed that Chandra’s mother has HIV/AIDS and will not be returning in order to spare her children from stigmatization. The film’s portrayal of the deep prejudice against those with HIV/AIDS is a searing condemnation along the same proportions as The Crucible. It is more like a witch hunt, albeit without a trial.

Chandra travels to her mother’s hometown, against Mrs. Tafa’s wishes, only to find that she’s been exiled by her own family. Chandra finds her mother in the outskirts of the village, waiting to die. In one of the most touching moments in the film, Chandra cradles her mother and gives her water using a wet cloth. She vows to bring her mother home, but her troubles are not over yet.

Chandra returns to the village with her mother via an ambulance, and all the neighbors come out of their homes and begin verbally abusing Chandra for bringing her infected mother into their presence. Mrs. Tafa, next door, hides behind her window blinds and begins her transformation as she is torn between her desire to protect Chandra and her fear of what the neighbors will think about her in their tight-knit community.

Ironically, this village is “Christian,” in that most people are shown singing in the church choir and attending service at various intervals. Simultaneously, there is a syncretism occurring between indigenous shamanistic folk religion and Christianity, which is portrayed in a scene where Chandra’s family hires a witch doctor to cast out her mother’s sickness. But it is these “Christians” that condemn Chandra and her mother and are most fearful of the stigma it will bring. They were already wary of the prostitute living with them, but now they have had enough.

Then came Mrs. Tafa’s conversion moment. She steps out of her house and plants herself between the mob and Chandra’s house, bravely calling them out for their hypocrisy. Mrs. Tafa ridicules them for the scandalous things they do behind their own doors, but that no one talks about. In essence, let the one without sin cast the first stone.

The biblical parallels (John 8) are so clear that I would be inclined to say that the filmmakers must have wanted to draw them. After Mrs. Tafa’s challenge—much like the Scriptural account—the mob disperses, some in true repentance and others angrier than ever. Christian charity, the kind that Jesus would recognize, is not merely helping out respectable people when you have the resources and the time—as with Mrs. Tafa taking Chandra and her siblings in when Chandra’s mother left–but taking in the lowly, the disreputable, the scandalizing.

This is the challenge of Life, Above All. Will those infected with HIV/AIDS be ostracized from society or will they be treated and welcomed as those made in God’s image, for the sake of the sick as well as for their children who face the life of orphans? For Christians, this challenge is broader–not just for the sake of the sick and for the sake of the orphaned, but also, ultimately, for the sake of God’s fame. They will know we are Christians by our love.

Previous Post

February 26, 2013

Percy Jackson and the Absent Father

Next Post

February 28, 2013 An Absentee Father’s Legacy to His Movie Critic Son

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Action AFI Top 100 Animation Best Picture Winner BFI Top 250 Biography Biopic Books Childrens Christian Classics Classics Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Editor's Choice Family Fantasy Fantasy Films Foreign Historical Historical Fiction History Horror Horror IMDB Top 250 Indie Memoir Modern Novel Musical Mystery Non-Fiction Oscars Philosophy Poetry Popular Literature Reading and Writing Reality Romance Science Fiction Science Fiction Silent Sports Thriller TV Show Uncategorized Western Westerns Young Adult

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In the Lord's Prayer, what do Christians ask for daily?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Long life Daily bread Riches Fame