“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” is a film told from the perspective of an eight year old child, Bobo and her understanding of the 1980 war for independence in Zimbabwe. In watching, it was easy to see how Bobo attempts to navigate the circumstances of her life and her understanding of race and while at times the film is uneven in pacing, the film has emotional performances that highlight the conflict of Zimbabwe formerly Rhodesia. 

“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight” is a drama film written and directed by Embeth Davidtz in her feature directorial debut. The film is based on Alexandra Fuller’s 2001 memoir about the experiences of her White Zimbabean family following the Rhodesian Bush War. In the film, young Bobo (Lexi Venter) is a wild child, riding around the land around her family’s farm on a motorcycle and smoking cigarettes. Her mother, Nicola Fuller (Embeth Davidtz) sleeps with a gun and is a policewoman while her father Tim (Rob Van Vuuren) is away from the farm as a soldier. Bobo annoys her sister Vanessa (Anina Reed) with her wild ways but connects with a maid working for the family, Sarah (Zikhona Bali) who attempts to teach Bobo to treat the Africans around her with respect despite Sarah being at risk from the rebels for associating with a white child. Ultimately, the film is about the experiences of the family to losses of children and their land and Bobo’s conflicted love for the opposing sides of the war. 

In the film, it is hard to look away from the story told by Bobo. From her perspective, we see confusion as she questions her mother about whether she is African or not. She asks if it is because we’re white. Her mother answers that it’s complicated. Those complications are harder to show because the film is through the eyes of a child but what shines through in the story is the neglect of the children, how little connection they have to their mother due to her alcoholism and loss of her other children. Bobo connects to Sarah because Sarah takes the time to care for Bobo when the other adults in her life pay little attention to her. And in doing so, Bobo learns to love the African people.

The story doesn’t glamorize the life of Bobo’s family. They are poor and eventually they are not able to remain on the land due to the cost of running the farm. It shows the tension and conflict between the African people and White farmers, the struggles each faces but also illustrates the racism of Nicola, Bobo’s mother, in her belief that the land belongs to her despite the prior claim of the Africans. The film shows how the deaths of her children impact Nicola and her remaining children Bobo and Vanessa. It is a hard film to watch particularly because of how neglected Bobo and Vanessa are by their parents. 

The performances are what are the highlights for me. Young Lexi Venter as Bobo is outstanding, her performance emotional as she tries to reconcile her feelings for Sarah versus what she is shown by her parents. And since the entire film is from her perspective, that performance only enhances the movie. I love the way we see the connection between her and the actress playing Sarah, Zikhona Bali. Zikhona Bali is excellent as well, her performance warm and caring. Embeth Davidtz plays Nicola with precision, illustrating her alcoholism and tension perfectly throughout the film. Rob Van Vuuren as Tim Fuller and Anina Reed as Vanessa are also able to give emotional performances that add depth to the film. 

There are moments where the film is uneven and long. In particular, because the movie is from Bobo’s point of view, we do sometimes lack context for many of the things she experiences. While some of it becomes clear in scenes with her parents or with Sarah, it is harder to understand the full scope of the Rhodesian Bush War just from the movie. The film is excellent at portraying the racism of Bobo’s parents and the experiences she had as a child on the farm with Sarah.

If you like emotional performances and dramas that are complex, this film is well performed. I did find the ending beautiful and while the story as a whole is sad, the ending shows that Bobo has at least gained an understanding of the people around her and a love for the land she has lived in. The story shows how connected one can be to a place and how much we can learn if we listen to those around us. And most of all, I loved the complex and emotional performances in this film.

4 out of 5 cigarettes. 

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