Let me start by simply saying, go watch this film. Unseen, 21st and 28th November.
I understand there is a common complaint that Kenyan film and TV stick too closely to the same genres, drama, comedy, and crime, often featuring the same familiar faces. A creative stagnation.
Yes, I also want to see musicals, horror, sci-fi (this one especially), but I’m also a firm believer that genre is never the problem, it’s what the creative does with it that matters. This movie is a perfect example of that.
This is a Swedish-Kenyan crime thriller, though the credits suggest it's more of a Swedish-owned Kenyan story, directed, produced, and written by Baker Karim.
It follows MZ (Alexander Karim), a small-time drug dealer in Mombasa, who descends into a desperate, high-stakes spiral after a dangerous obsession with Kadzo, an escort played by Caroline Muthoni. The story also features Lorna Lermi and veterans like Caroline Midimo and Robert Agengo.
It’s a character examination, a perfect embodiment of the “F around and find out” meme, plunging us into the dark, perverse madness of Mombasa's criminal underbelly.
The good
The director’s vision is clear from the opening tracking shot. Character arcs, motivations, and themes are clear without being preachy, striking a perfect balance between tackling social issues and entertainment.
The film’s opening, including the title card’s claustrophobic font choice, placement, size, and case, lays the groundwork for a cold, brutal, and unforgiving universe. It’s a well-thought-out world, complete with rules, hierarchies, and consequences, or “tax,” in this case, all given a cinematic yet consistently grounded touch.
The cinematography is a step beyond standard good lighting and blocking. Its strength is the exceptional utilisation of the location, with one of the best uses of the coastal city I’ve ever seen.
The camera moves through the concrete jungle of the city centre, the ghettos, and the lush resorts, capturing the story’s economic contrast and giving the city an expansive, lived-in feel. I also can’t understate how the director and cinematographers handle the raunchy and horrific moments.
The diverse casting surprisingly captures the reality of the coastal city’s inhabitants. Alexander Karim, with his chiselled action-movie look, brings MZ to life, but I found him far more effective when silent, limited to expressions, the dialect coach failed. Caroline Muthoni is pivotal as Kadzo, steering some of the story’s more complex material in the second and third acts.
Caroline Midimo is interesting in her role, maximising her somewhat one-dimensional character. But for me, Robert Agengo steals the movie, often without having to say a word. His timing and delivery are stellar. Lorna Lermi delivered a tight, intense role with her limited screen time, playing one of the film’s most believable characters.
The costumes and make-up team clearly aimed for realism, successfully making the characters look like real people with outfits that reflect their economic status, including small details like capturing the coastal humidity.
This grounded approach extends to the props, with scenes featuring everyday items, like the interesting use of a tomato sauce sachet, which further grounds the film, as does MZ’s visual motif and the texture of the blood.
The writing effectively uses street-level lingo, helping sell the authenticity of the premise. The tight, creative editing keeps the narrative punchy and fast-paced. The score is intense, and the sound design utilises silence and specific sonic details (like the call to prayer) to elevate the realism in some scenes.
Gripes
I’m pro-collaboration, but I find it fascinating that for a movie labelled a Kenyan film, Kenyans behind the scenes are relegated to principal photography, what I can playfully refer to as watu wa mkono, with no executive producer, producer, editor, sound designer, or colourist from the country. This, for me, blurs the line between collaboration and cultural exploitation.
Alex Karim is incredible in this, but his coastal Swahili is jarring, the immersion is broken every time he opens his mouth. In fact, generally, the Swahili in the film lacks the distinct rhythm and charm of the coast. Frankly, the movie could have been set in Nairobi without a noticeable linguistic difference.
I also think MZ makes conveniently stupid decisions for a character who was not established as a beginner in the game.
Though the performances are strong, some feel overly theatrical, like straight-up stage play.
The Sadam character is one-dimensional, and I thought the creators missed an opportunity to challenge the audience by imbuing the character with charm or a subtly lovable style, lending complexity that throws the audience into moral limbo.
The pacing is everywhere, randomly jumping from pockets of slow, character-building moments to high-octane sequences, noticeable for those going in for a constant thrill ride.
The gruesome scenes are welcomed, but one specific, technically impressive sequence felt purely like it was designed for shock value, lacking the creative thoughtfulness of an earlier, equally unsettling scene (the tuna scene), which was effective because it engaged the viewer’s imagination. A few well-placed red herrings could have significantly spiced up the narrative, as the film follows a familiar structure.
My biggest problem, however, is the marketing. I can bet most people reading this haven’t heard of the film. The PR and marketing team (if they existed) failed to put this movie in the public eye, failing to leverage the veteran, crowd-favourite actors and Kenyans' diverse media landscape (podcasts and legacy media).
Summary
This is where I write a cool, philosophical, thoughtful summary of everything I’ve mentioned above, but let’s keep it simple this time, just go watch this movie.
