Reunited after 17 years, an Angolan immigrant is joined in the U.S. by his wife and daughter. Now strangers sharing a one-bedroom apartment, they discover a shared love of dance that may help them overcome the distance between them.
The word ‘immigration’ might refer to the act of following opportunities or finding refuge in countries abroad but it can also incite feelings of separation anxiety and hardship due to its emotional costs. When an Angolan mother and daughter find themselves flying into the United States to reunite with their husband and father after 17 years of separation, betrayal and changes come to light that threatens the family unit. “Farewell Amor” is a film that deciphers the disconnect felt between those that are left behind and those that take an isolated step forward to achieve dreams of opportunity in America.
“Farewell Amor” starts the narrative by reuniting Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine) with his wife Esther (Zainab Jah) and daughter Sylvia (Jayme Lawson) after 17 years of separation across borders. However, Walter is prefaced to have been having an affair with another woman named Linda (Nana Mensah) who earlier left Walter after he failed to pick her over his incoming family. The family’s reunion is awkward and pending until Walter’s betrayal comes to light, threatening to tear apart the family that had only just started to embark on their journey to a home.
Zainab Jah is a pivotal phenomenon as Esther, delivering the presence of a prided poise which slowly crumbles under the pressure of betrayal and change. Esther is the Christian mother flooded with preachings of serving that she forgets to serve herself and her needs during times of overwhelming loss and uncertainty. Jah carries these characteristics of certain cultural mothers with genuine heart – fretting over the smallest matters involving her only daughter, worrying more about the perspectives outside looking in than the other way around, and carrying more emotional burdens than she needs to carry on her own. Jah is endearing as Esther and is the strongest connection to the tragedies of immigration as a mother and as a traditional woman.
Jah has immense chemistry with Joie Lee, who plays Nzingha – the quirky “best” friend to support Jah during her troubling moments. Their shared screen moments carry a lightness that contrasts sharply with Esther’s interactions with the rest of her family – interactions that are often filled with heavy regret and fear. However, the relationships portrayed with Esther as its central character is reminiscent of the turbulence that emerges from the decisions of immigration. Sometimes there are joyful moments that undo the tension but much of the fear and bordering regret remain unaddressed in order to magnify the value of strength against adversity. Esther is the epitome of such value as it is the only visible path to survival.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine captures the essence of a conflicted man with a vision, full of worry and hesitation but still a stable force of reliability. Walter made a mistake and faltered under the pressure of loneliness while trying to build a life worthy of his primary family. He just didn’t expect to start the foundations of another family. However, his mistake didn’t define his decision to ultimately choose what he had set out to do for Esther and Sylvia. It is a character with a complexity that Mwine made to be personal and quiet, like a deafening echo that contrasts Esther’s cries.
Jayme Lawson as Sylvia is young, bright, and full of hope – even if that hope is slightly dashed by the fear and traditionalism of Esther. Yet the hopeful presence of Sylvia is the bridge that will overcome the darkness of human choices. Dance is a shared love in the family. Yet, dance was not the essence of the film nor was Sylvia’s love for dance, but the love in the film is defined by Sylvia’s near decision to throw away dance if only to choose her mother’s, wounded heart.
“Farewell Amor” is captivating because of the depth of its characters and the depth of the acting. It explores the strengths needed to choose second chances and it attempts to capture the essence of home through human relationships than through a particular location. In any and every story of family immigration, I see an Esther, I see a Walter, and I see a Sylvia – all of whom are trying to make the best of accepting and adapting to a new life without burdening the people that they love most.
In Select Theaters and available to stream on VOD
