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Teza

Haile Gerima Teza
Negodgwad Productions 2009

Set in Ethiopia during Mengistu Hailemariam's regime, Haile Gerima’s Teza tells the story of Anberber, a scientist who, traumatized by his experiences abroad, returns home after many years. After an emotional reunion with his mother, it becomes clear Anberber is physically and mentally unwell. He limps from a leg injury suffered in Germany and wanders the village, displaced and out of touch, unable to reconnect to his childhood or the social fabric of the village. Incapable of putting his studies to practical use, he watches helplessly as government soldiers abduct children to join the army. Ill at ease, Anberber suffers persistent nightmares, through which Gerima unfolds a series of flashbacks that narrate the events of his life, in Ethiopia as well as Germany.

The winner of several international film festivals, including FESPACO's Golden Stallion, Teza is visually stunning. The landscapes of Anberber's lakeside village evoke a strong nostalgia: warm colors and dreamlike shots of smoky huts drenched in golden sunlight contrast with the cold, blue hue of his time in Germany. The music, arranged by Vijay Iyer and Jorga Mesfin, won Best Score at the Carthage International Film Festival, and includes traditional Ethiopian church and folk melodies (Lalibela singers included) as well as throbbingly rendered saxophone interludes. Overall, the film is a landmark effort to grapple with the experiences of those student activists who left Ethiopia in the 1970's, hoping to better their country through their participation in the global socialist movement, only to find the situation back home, upon their return, more complicated- and dangerous— than they anticipated. Through Anberber’s eyes, we witness the horror of abductions, political killings, and shattered idealisms. He is the silent, quiet observer, witnessing chaos and absorbing the trauma of an entire generation. Yet in as much the film is about Anberber, the stories of many characters intersect his, weaving a common and broadly defined tapestry of Ethiopian identity during those years. In this sense, Gerima’s ambition is great. There doesn’t appear to be a single social issue he doesn’t attempt to address. To his credit, he does manage to capture the era's complexity, and though the film is long, it’s hard to choose which scene it could have done without.