Zimbabwean actor Lucian Msamati on the criticism that Anthony Minghella’s film version of Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Lady’s Detective Agency (the miniseries now showing on the BBC TV) needs to be judged like we judge a news show:
What does Msamati make of the criticism often levied against McCall Smith: that he paints too rosy a picture of Africa with his pastoral idylls unwracked by Aids, his refusal to countenance war and famine. “Well, I guess the counterpoint to that is if it were in a quaint Scottish village up in the Highlands, it wouldn’t be a problem - so why should it be a problem that it’s a somewhat idealised vision of Africa? Why not? It’s part of building a canon, isn’t it? You don’t just build one side of … of the colossus - you have to build all sides of it. And fundamentally, the fact that you’ve got an overweight, independent African woman doing her own thing, setting up a business, actually dealing with people who are human beings going about their daily lives, who are not dying of A B C D E F G, or under the cosh of some crazed dictator - that’s got to be positive.
The rest of the interview here.
1 response so far ↓
Jenna // March 25, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Superb performances by Jill Scott and Lucian Msamati in #1LDA. Richard Curtis’s script pruned off some of the books’ self conscious tiresome preachyness. What some critics overlook is the fact that the books were written fairly recently, but as loose memories and impressions, of people and place, of a period McCall Smith had lived in Botswana during childhood and or as a young man. Some 40+ years ago. Those were simpler times for rural communities, regardless of which part of the world they were situated in.
It’s particularly narrow and tunnel-visioned to overlook the fact that the books and TV film are a work of creativity, fiction and large imagination. Lucian Msamati is spot on with mention of a setting in a “quaint Scottish village”. That would describe the “Hamish McBeth” very popular TV series set in Scotland and aired by the BBC. The main character was a pot smoking village policeman, some caricature simple Scottish locals in surreal outlandish situations, all filmed amidst glorious Scottish highland scenery.
Also perennially filmed ,and watched, are countless new productions of Agatha Christies “Miss Marple”. Ludicrous characters in ridiculous situations have *never* held back their tremendous popularity! TV critics are paid to watch TV so entertainment on TV is a concept viewed very frostily by them.
Anthony Minghella has produced and directed a quality production in the TV film. Funny, tender, outrageous, poignant, catoonish, subtle and addressing some important issues. Above all - life affirming. A tribute to Africa becomes a tribute to Anthony Mingella.
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