Supa Modo (2018)

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Siskoid
Supa Modo, out of Kenya, is a beautiful - and unpredictable - little film about a young girl dying of cancer who is a fan of kung fu and superhero movies. She likes to pretend she has powers (and sometimes maybe she does); her sister likes to help her pretend; and her mother simply holds up the pretense that she isn't going to die. Sounds heavy, and it can be, but the little girl is so charming, and the story so positive, that if I wept, it was more because of the contrast between what we see and what we know is really happening. Eventually, the entire community contributes to the illusion (in several ways), and isn't that what the "I have a dream" speech was all about? By sharing a dream, we can make it real. That's sort of what's happening here. And as a superhero movie? Yeah, it works! In most ways, it's completely atypical. In others, we recognize the tropes. There's even a post-credit sequence! Don't tell me Africa is out of the loop on global pop culture! A wonderful film that, here at 2020's finish line, makes it into the list of the favorite films I've seen this year. 3 years 3 months ago