ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL (2025) review

written by: Rungano Nyoni
produced by: Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, and Tim Cole
directed by: Rungano Nyoni
rated: PG-13 (for thematic material involving sexual abuse, some drug use and suggestive references)
runtime: 95 min.
U.S. release date: March 7, 2025 (limited) & March 14, 2025 (wide)

Like being drawn to a catchy book title sitting on a bookstore shelf, I came in cold to Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”, drawn purely by the film’s title. The Zambian-born, Welsh writer/director’s follow-up to 2017’s “I Am Not a Witch” is a luminous and fierce look at the trauma and tradition of a modern-day suburban middle-class Zambian family. It is sometimes surreal in its dreamlike approach and unnerving in how the subject of family secrets and suppressed grief feels unfortunately all too universal. Nyoni’s sophomore effort tells an absorbing and fascinating tale of social mores that have inhabited one family’s matriarchal tree for decades.

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” opens late one night on a remote road, where we see Shula (Susan Chardy, making an impressive acting debut) driving home from a friend’s party dressed like Missy Elliott. If you’ve seen the video for “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” you know what that looks like. If you’re unfamiliar, you might wonder what kind of film this will be, and that’s a great thing to find yourself wondering. Indeed, it’s a surreal introduction to the protagonist, free of any context that would indicate who this young woman is, inviting the audience to figure things out for themselves.

When she drives by a dead body lying in the road, Shula strangely does not elicit a reaction. She remains silent, which is even stranger when we learn that the dead body is Uncle Fred. She sits behind the wheel of her vehicle in her parachute bodysuit and a disco ball headdress. Is she thinking about what to do, or should she keep driving? Better yet, why isn’t she calling the police? Soon enough, those questions will be answered.

Shula observes her surroundings and realizes that down the road from her uncle’s body is a brothel, and near that is a billboard that advertises a priest who promises to deliver miracles and salvation. Something is off here. This is confirmed when Shula’s cousin Nansa (Elizabeth Chisela) shows up in a drunken stupor, also unaffected by their uncle’s dead body, loudly laughing and dancing just outside Shula’s vehicle. Neither of them had a close relationship with Uncle Fred, or maybe it was too close, uncomfortably close, starting early on when they were girls.

As the story unfolds, we learn that the women in their family knew about Uncle Fred’s reprehensible behavior. It was either suspected, ignored, or unacknowledged, and no warnings were ever given. In the aftermath of this eventful night, Shula will unexpectedly have to deal with her repressed feelings and memories related to her uncle and reckon with how other women in her family are reacting to the death.

Remaining a stoic observer, Shula watches all that transpires at home, where her grief-stricken mother (Doris Naulapwa) lives alone, as mourners arrive for Bemba and Christian funeral traditions. Seemingly busloads of women arrive, some crawling on their hands and knees (chanting “Death come crawling”) to take over the kitchen while the men remain outside waiting to be fed. There is wailing, praying, and crying, without acknowledging who he truly was, but Shula knows the truth and offers no tears. Older women order younger women to serve the guests as funeral traditions begin. During this time, Shula learns of other women in her family that Uncle Fred had his hands on, which only increases her disdain, but to make matters worse, there are family members who side with the abuser, perhaps not wanting the truth to come out and stain the reputation of their family.

Throughout it all, there are two women who are seemingly overlooked which coincides with the family wanting to  Uncle Fred’s young widow, Chichi (Norah Mwansa), who is in the house yet kept secluded from anyone else. The women, such as Uncle Fred’s sister, blame her for his death, believing she was responsible for keeping him alive and healthy. Discussion of who will be accountable for Uncle Fred’s assets, one of Shula’s aunts insists that they seize the widow’s house home to the numerous children they had together. They can hide and ignore Chichi all they want, but she still exists just as much as Uncle Fred’s indiscretions. Shula’s younger cousin, Bupe (Esther Singini), a student at the local university, who goes from recovering from a suicide attempt (likely due to her own experience with Uncle Fred) to feigning a smile the next day, stating, “He’s dead now, so it’s okay”, as if trying to convince herself. As she observes these women during this time, Shula realizes the depth of her uncle’s actions and becomes even more indignant about what was allowed to happen.

While the subject matter of “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” seems like it should be depressing, but it winds up being anything thanks to Nyoni injecting humor and at times a nonlinear surreal storytelling approach. At times, flashbacks are incorporated, providing a look at Shula’s childhood as her environment triggers repressed memories and strange dreams. The biting humor primarily comes from Shula’s interaction with her cousin, which provides levity for both the film’s protagonist and its viewers. The relationship between the cousins is one of unspoken acceptance and love, with a knowing understanding of their family’s history of looking the other way when it comes to fowl behavior.

Speaking of fowl, the film’s title comes to play in a fitting and educational manner, with Nyoni subtly comparing Shula to a guinea fowl. The comparison and significance can be found in a children’s television program that shows how in a group setting, the guinea fowl will be the one to alert others of potential predators in an effort to keep them safe. That’s a role that Shula gradually embraces to the point of even establishing her own audible outcry resembling the guinea fowl’s audible alarm.

Just as “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” has one of the most entrancing openings, the film’s memorable ending will leave you pondering how Nyoni’s story illuminates how reality and perception can often be blurred. Reuniting with cinematographer David Gallego (who worked on “I Am Not a Witch”, as well as “Embrace of the Serpent” and “Birds of Passage”), Nyoni manages to conjure images that combine dreams and drama with equal ease and effectiveness.

Last December, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” was scheduled to be released in theaters here in the States, but A24 rescheduled its release to March, likely so it wouldn’t get lost in the mix during awards season. I’m glad I saw it when it played last fall at the Chicago International Film Festival and my hope is that this impressive film is allowed to breathe and find an audience during its theatrical release. Nyoni is definitely a filmmaker that more viewers should know about.

RATING: ***1/2