‘Inside Story’ Netflix Movie Review - In Football We Trust

There are moments in Rolie Nikiwe's Inside Story that lead you to believe you are watching a TV commercial. During the interview portions, you expect a Nike logo or something to pop up in the frame when Kalu (Kevin Ndege Mamboleo) narrates his story and says things like, "Knowledge is power." The movie, however, mostly resembles a government-sponsored public service announcement. "Use a condom for safe sex" is the main message here. You know that horrible little virus called HIV? Well, it can be sexually transmitted from one person to another. Kalu mentions that this virus is so small that you need a special camera to see it. Nikiwe's camera is special because it enters Kalu's body and shows the virus moving among the red blood cells. The whole process of HIV getting transferred to another body through the penis is depicted through animation. Or you can say the camera is very close to the private parts of its characters. Inside Story is, um, an intimate project.

The movie draws parallels between Kalu's sports-related struggles and the way the virus attacks his vital cells. When he reaches his lowest point after a leg injury, we are told that the disease has also spread widely in his body. So, his "return to form" training montage is accompanied by images of antibiotics working against HIV. You can understand the good intentions of writers Darrel Bristow-Bovey, Sunu Gonera, Gillian Breslin, Roger Smith, and Sheila Curran Bernard, but you still can't shake off the feeling that this whole connection between sports and HIV is (unintentionally) funny. Spkiri (Sdumo Mtshali) trusts traditional medicines to cure him, and the movie uses this character as an example to say that you should go for scientific treatments for such fatal diseases.

Inside Story follows the sports movie template dutifully. Imagination is sacrificed at the altar of social messaging. The camaraderie between Kalu and his team, his relationship with the coach's daughter, Ify (Kendra Etufunwa), and his friendship with Spkiri are all executed frailly. There is no vigor in the direction - no sense of purpose or urgency. The camera merely depicts the ongoing events without infusing them with dramatic energy. Every scene simply does its job and fails to establish a strong connection between us and the screen. You watch the film almost passively.

Mamboleo and Mtshali are fine. They get a good scene where Spkiri talks about his dream of wanting to play in a crowded stadium. It makes you think about the situation of these characters - if only for a few seconds. But Spkiri and Kalu's friendship remains feeble because it starts when the latter takes the blame for drinking alcohol. This action feels unconvincing, given everything that occurred before this moment. It becomes evident that the filmmakers are just walking on a conventional path. Elsewhere, you are made to sit through lazy conflicts generated by easy-to-hate villains. I am, of course, talking about the inappropriately named Goodwill (Fana Mokoena). He is the guy with a punchable face whose sole job is to irk the audience. Inside Story ultimately leaves you unstirred and with the question, "When it comes to movies, are good intentions enough?" My answer: No.

Final Score- [4.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times