For his first move behind the camera, actor Chiwetel Ejiofor turns to the real-life story of William Kamkwamba, a teenager in Malawi who tries to save his village during a 2001 crisis bordering on famine.
As the story unfolds, 13-year-old William (Maxwell Simba) attempts to remain in school while his family struggles to pay the fees associated with his education. The ingenious William believes he has discovered a way to battle drought by pumping well water with an electrically powered windmill. I don't consider that a spoiler because the title not only suggests the story's outline but foretells its conclusion.
Initially, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind looks as if it's going to be a straightforward story about the way a young man of intelligence and determination overcomes tremendous obstacles, a near fairy tale set against a village backdrop.
But anyone familiar with Ejiofor's work knows that he's a gifted and subtle actor whose unlikely to take a fill-in-the-blanks approach to moviemaking. As William's father, Ejiofor deeply touching performance enriches the film. Ejiofor's Trywell Kamkwamba's pride in his son is tempered by the pain of what he sees as his own failure to flourish. His son's interest in science reinforces Trywell's recognition that he simply isn't educated enough to keep pace.
The story wisely encompasses a variety of additional social themes: the shift of land use from growing food to the cultivation of cash crops such as tobacco; governmental indifference to the country's rural population; and personal aspirations crushed by a lack of resources. William's sister (Lily Banda) has been an exemplary student. Unable to afford more education, Banda's Annie marries the town's science teacher (Lemogang Tsipsa). It's her way of escaping the uncertainties of agricultural life.
Trywell's wife (Aissa Maiga) yearns for her children to expand their horizons; at one point, she describes her own life as one of struggle and loss, full of the kind of pain that seldom has been remediated.
Ejiofor creates a realistic backdrop for the movie's central story about William's insistence on building a windmill -- for which he must assemble a generator made from scrap and other found materials. He also must persuade his father to allow him to dismantle a beloved bicycle. For Dad, the bike isn't about recreation; it's his only means of transportation.
To help in his quest, William accesses the school library after he's been expelled for non-payment of fees. Without an abundant harvest, Dad simply can't risk spending money on education.
In addition to obtaining a sturdy performance from Simba, Ejiofor infuses his movie with accumulating respect for village traditions -- from funerals to tribal meetings to situations that test long-standing ties between fathers and sons.
Ejiofor's directorial debut draws its power from two sources: William's somewhat pat but still worthy story and Ejiofor's insistence on adding the kind of observational colors that give his palette richness.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind bows on Netflix this week.
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