The Survival of Kindness

A Black woman in a cage is carted into the desert by a group of men wearing gas masks and left for dead in the scorching heat. After a day and a night in agony, spent observing different species of ants in battle, she finally manages to free herself. She travels through a variety of terrain, an array of corpses lining her way. On her journey, she encounters different people, none of whom she can communicate with, and who are all more or less ill-disposed towards her. Yet all it takes is a single kind encounter to maintain her hope in humanity.

The phrase “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes” takes on a different meaning in this Australian entry to Berlin’s Competition, as the protagonist keeps collecting footwear on her tedious pilgrimage, latching onto one of the things we have in common: we are built the same way and need protection.

In its 96 minutes making do without dialogue (the few words spoken by the characters each in a different abstract language created by the actors), the evocative sound design and emphatic score by Anna Liebzeit are particularly noteworthy.

The connection between having to fight racism at the same time as fleeing a fatal, contagious disease can be traced directly back to the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

It is quite evident that director Rolf de Heer wanted to make a strong statement against violence, in particular against the cruel acts perpetuated against people of colour. Nevertheless, the continued depiction thereof implies a certain cluelessness about the history of Black bodies in (White) entertainment and the criticism of non-POC profiting from their trauma. Equally, the optimism of mankind already thrust upon the unnamed protagonist in the film’s title can be construed as a variation of the abhorrent Uncle Tom trope.

Regardless, it is a staggering first performance by non-actor Mwajemi Hussein, a refugee from the Congo, who reveals in the press conference that, prior to becoming attached to this production, she had never been to a cinema. Hopefully it will not be her last venture in front of the camera.

Selina Sondermann

The Survival of Kindness does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Berlin Film Festival 2023 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Berlin Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for The Survival of Kindness here: