TIFF’s Kids International Film Festival: Felix Review

Felix (2013)

Cast: Okwethu Banisi, Andrea Dondolo, Nicholas Ellenbogen
Director: Roberta Durrant
Country: South Africa
Genre: Music | Comedy | Family | Drama
Official Site: Here

Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage for TIFF’s Kids International Film Festival which runs from April 8th to April 21st at TIFF Bell Lightbox. For more information on upcoming TIFF film series visit http://tiff.net and follow TIFF on Twitter at @TIFF_NET.

On the streets of Cape Town narrative fiction and real life collide in beautiful spectacles of musical expression with the seemingly endless range of the unassuming penny whistle making a king out of a boy named Felix who has mastered the ability to exude pure joy through the simple instrument without formal training. Some play percussion on refuse washed ashore on the crowded beach, surrounded by the vibrant colors of the discarded and forgotten, creating spontaneous jazz for the sheer joy of expression. Felix’s mother lovingly peels potatoes at their humble home, smiling to herself with the knowledge that Felix has been accepted into a private school that will give him opportunities that his deceased father never had, but priggish snobbery has survived the death of apartheid even amongst black Africans who have found affluence in their newfound opportunities but look down upon Felix for his lack of wealth and bright green backpack.

On the streets of Cape Town narrative fiction and real life collide in beautiful spectacles of musical expression with the seemingly endless range of the unassuming penny whistle making a king out of a boy named Felix…

Inside the classroom one succeeds or fails based on their merit and wit but outside of its meritocratic walls class warfare ensues and Felix finds himself out of his element as penny whistles are seen as an inferior instrument and jazz requires formalistic structure in the realm of suits and ties. Felix makes a few friends amongst students daring enough to be different but the richer kids do everything in their power to alienate Felix and deprive him of the joy that came so easily before the complications of private school and its disparate social classes that continually assert themselves despite the homogeneous uniforms of the student population. Felix must learn to play by their rules so he reaches out to street musicians that his mother adamantly told him to avoid so he can learn how to read sheet music. Once he has mastered this “trivial” aspect of music his natural abilities can be harnessed to fit into the school’s formal jazz band that plays with technical accuracy but lacks the soul-baring honesty and joy of the music that already lives and breathes on the streets of Cape Town.

It finds the charms of the streets of Cape Town that is filled with vibrant colors and the enticing sounds of street music, but doesn’t ignore the recent memories of social injustices that were the tragic norm before the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Felix’s mother wants only the best for her son, so the proud mother and heart-broken widow does everything she can to lead Felix down a path different than his father’s who spent his nights and days obsessed with jazz, playing bright swinging horns with the Bozza Boys in taverns filled with dangerous gangsters. Felix must prove to his mother that music and the vices that sometimes accompany a life obsessed with it do not always go hand in hand, but sometimes the only way a young man can follow his dreams is to break the rules established by well-meaning parents. With a little help from his friends, Felix is able to bring the Bozza Boys back together for one last concert to raise money to get Felix’s deceased father’s saxophone out of the pawn shop so he can join the school’s jazz band and prove to his mother that his love of music and natural abilities can take him places his father had never dreamed.

Felix is a heartwarming film filled with the irresistible siren call of bright jazz horns and the infectious smile of first time actor, Hlayani Junior Mabasa as the titular Felix. It finds the charms of the streets of Cape Town that is filled with vibrant colors and the enticing sounds of street music, but doesn’t ignore the recent memories of social injustices that were the tragic norm before the end of apartheid in South Africa. New opportunities have presented themselves to those with intelligence and natural talents, but even those fortunate enough to pursue those opportunities are subject to the cruelties of those already living in the joyless comforts of wealth.