An Uncomfortably Familiar Situation
Imran Hamdulay’s short film The Wait is a deft and sharp look at modern day South Africa through the microcosm of an experience familiar to most South Africans- a visit to the police station.
Short-films, with their need to be succinct, can often pack a powerful punch and Hamdulay delivers one straight to the gut with The Wait. While the premise is simple, a young man helps an old man at the police station- The film is analogous to South Africa as a whole- where the system is broken and so are the people.
Broken
The film opens on a broken car window, with the hole in the glass used to frame our protagonist, Mzu (played by South African TV star Siya Mayola), as he drives to the police station. It’s a clever touch and an impactful way to set the tone of the film. At the police station, he’s met by indifference as the police deal with yet another crime they’re unlikely to solve in a country with a crime rate as high as South Africa’s. Unemployment and inequality are rife in South Africa, which means crime has become a regular part of life. Reporting stolen goods is almost a rite of passage.
When he goes to sit in line and fill out his forms, Mzu meets an old man (played by veteran actor, Cedwyn Joel) in need of assistance with his paperwork. It’s revealed that he’d been waiting for hours without help. Everyone around him was too focused on getting in and out of the cop shop so they just moved past him, continually leaving him at the back of the line. It’s a small act of repeated cruelty that lays stark the desensitisation of many South Africans to the plights of those around us in need.
We’ve All Got Problems
Mzu is distressed by this and asks the other people in line to let the old man move to the front, but is either ignored or met with excuses. Nobody in the long line is willing to give up five minutes of their time to help somebody else. When he pleads with the police, he’s dismissed and eventually restrained when his frustration boils over. “We’ve all got problems, I don’t have the time,” seems to be the approach of everyone except Mzu.
The endless waiting in lines due to bureaucracy, the stonewalling by tired civil servants, and the unwillingness of ordinary South Africans to help our fellow citizens in need because, “We’ve all got problems,” are far too relatable, and real in a way that is uncomfortable to sit with. The film highlights that the current systems in place are dehumanising to everyone involved, and leave our most vulnerable behind.
How Much Longer?
In the end, the film is a reminder that it is up to us as individuals to help where we can, despite the hopelessness we can feel when paired up against an uncaring system. Change is often a slow process, especially in South Africa. If we let apathy take hold, it’ll take forever. The question is, “How much longer can we wait?”
Catch the film at the Durban International Film Festival: https://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/diff45/the-wait/
Screening Schedule:
20 July 12:15 PM – 1:30 PM Suncoast
22 July 12:15 PM – 1:30 PM Wushwini
23 July 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM KCAP
24 July 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM CAP Studios
25 July 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM Denis Hurley Centre
25 July 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Denis Hurley Centre
26 July 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Luthuli Museum
26 July 5:30 PM – 6:45 PM Gateway
Author: Bob Perfect
This review emanates from the Talent Press programme, an initiative of Talents Durban in collaboration with the Durban FilmMart Institute and FIPRESCI. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author (Bob Perfect) and cannot be considered as constituting an official position of the organisers.
