Bulado (2020)

Directed by: Eche Janga | 86 minutes | drama | Actors: Everon Jackson Hooi, Felix de Rooy, Tiara Richards, Vanessa Abad, Bert Aengenendt, Esperanza Copini, Alex de Lanoy, Chanella Hodge, Janise Maria Hooi, Brend Kouijzer, Mimoushka Lieuw, Idelma Mercelina, Juric Phelipa, Zahavi Ricardo

Although the cradle of filmmaker Eché Janga was in Haarlem, his father was born and raised in Curaçao. Because his parents separated when Eché was still young, he was not aware of his Antillean background for a long time. That changed when he went to live with his uncle Orlando on Curaçao for a while. Orlando was a man who had seen much of the world and loved to write short stories about the cultures and traditions he encountered during his many travels. In his uncle’s attic, Eché found a notebook containing a series of those short stories, particularly the five pages about two brothers who lived with their father and grandfather in a junkyard. While the father and the eldest brother wanted to put Grandpa in a care home, Grandpa wanted to be returned to his country of origin in Africa. The way is a very special one: on the back of an old horse, led by a bird of prey. The youngest son decided to help his grandfather. Orlando’s story is based on an Antillean myth that tells of how the enslaved people who had not eaten the salt from the salt mines were able to jump on horseback to their freedom, back to Africa.

This myth, together with the story of Janga’s uncle Orlando and the death of the mother of co-writer Esther Duysker, forms the basis of ‘Buladó’ (2020), the opening film of the Netherlands Film Festival this year. The film shows a side of Curaçao unknown to many Dutch people; we don’t see the sun-drenched, snow-white sandy beaches, the brightly colored houses and mass tourism, but the ‘kunuku’ of Bandabou, the poor countryside where stray dogs, cacti, iguanas and car wrecks determine the landscape. Eleven-year-old Kenza (the shining role of debutante Tiara Richards) lives in those outbacks, together with her father Ouira (Everon Jackson Hooi) and grandfather Weljo (Felix de Rooy). While her father is rational and strictly follows the letter of the law (he is a police officer for a reason), her grandfather now that he feels his end is approaching feels more and more spiritually related to the culture and traditions of his ancestors, the Caquetio . He builds his own ‘spirit tree’ from old exhausts and other car parts, to get in touch with the indigenous inhabitants of the island and thus fulfill his wish: to die as a Caquetio warrior. Kenza, who is on the brink of puberty, lacks a mother figure; her mother died in childbirth and her father finds it so difficult to talk about it that he prefers to remain silent. “You can’t miss what you don’t know,” he tells the school principal, who wants to know if the headstrong Kenza sometimes misbehaves because she lacks a mother figure. But meanwhile, his late wife’s dresses are still hanging in the closet. Grandpa Weljo, on the other hand, embraces death as part of life. He claims that her mother’s spirit seeks contact with her daughter, and he and Kenza grow closer.

‘Buladó’ revolves around a clash of generations: Grandpa Weljo embraces the past because he believes it plays an important role in shaping the future: don’t deny your culture and traditions, they are part of your identity. Father Ouira is typically a child of two cultures and prefers to look ahead: try to make something of your life, seize the opportunities that arise with both hands. Learn Dutch because it increases your chances of a successful career. There is much to be said for both views. Kenza negotiates between her father and her grandfather and tries to find her own way. Coping with her mother’s death is not so much the goal, but a means for Kenza to move forward. To discover her own identity. Grandpa can tell it all so beautifully about those deceased ancestors who seek contact with their earthly descendants, but sometimes it also seems a bit like he is losing his mind. That time when he rages like mad at a passing cruise ship, for example. But in his spiritual vision there is a beautiful form of comfort, hope and stability. It also gives Janga plenty of room to give his film a magical-realistic touch, which certainly has a hypnotic effect towards the end.

Because although he deals with fairly mundane matters – the search for your identity, dealing with loss – he presents his story to us as a mystical fairy tale, in which the dialogues (usually in Papiamento) are sparse because the images often speak for themselves. In a magnificent way, Janga shows us the unruly beauty of other, real Curaçao: capricious as the many cacti that adorn the island, dusty and here and there inhospitable. By making excellent use of music and sound, we almost feel the ever-present trade winds blowing around our ears. Just as enchanting as the landscape is the playing of the very young natural talent Tiara Richards, who understands the art of conveying a world of wool emotions with just a single glance. Hooi and De Rooy are also charming, but it is really their inexperienced young co-star who steals the show in this fascinating mysterious fairy tale.