It is both a strength and weakness of “I Am Slave” that the subject matter is not yet on the public radar. Statistics quoted in this film state that there are roughly 5,000 women living in London working against their will. They are undocumented, unpaid, and invisible. Most of these women come from war torn countries in Africa, such as Sudan, sold as captives from raided villages. All are held against their will.
Based on the true story of Mende Nazer, “I Am Slave” is about a young Sudanese girl named Malia, played by the “model-esque” Wunmi Mosaku, who is taken from her family at the age of 12 when her small village is raided. She is forced to spend six years working for the cruel family of a diplomat. She is beaten, starved, and isolated on a regular basis. Her captors hide her passport and systematically instill within her a paralyzing fear.
Gabriel Range brings this magnificent film to life. The cinematography is stunning. Range brilliantly uses gorgeous African landscapes as well as dark and gritty shots of streets in Europe. He uses wide-angle lenses when shooting Malia’s homeland, creating a pristine image of her childhood memories. The raw and narrow shots that follow Malia through her enslavement are a jarring juxtaposition to the African sceens. These shots give the audience a visual representation of her confinement and limitations.
At times “I Am Slave” may seem to be slow moving. This is perhaps done to portray time as an abstraction, a technique Range has used in many of his films. Malia eloquently summarizes this in “ I Am Slave” by asking, “What is time? Who is to say that years are not but a moment?” This quote speaks to a major theme in this film as well as to Malia’s apparent coping mechanism. She survived as one does in prison, by using time as though it is open to interpretation.
This film is well written, beautifully shot, and perfectly scored. The subject matter is heavy but the story is real and therefore must be told. Slavery still exists but films, such as “I Am Slave”, that bring awareness to this issue are an important step in the direction of eradication.
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