The Wound
South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France, 88 min, Drama, Xhosa with English subtitles, Not Rated
Monday, Jun 5, 2017 9:45 PM
MIDWEST PREMIERE. Xolani is a lonely factory-worker in Queenstown, South Africa, who spends his days keeping to himself while going through the mindless motions of work. He patiently waits every year for the annual ukwaluka, a secret ritual in the hills where young boys undergo the brutal but important act of becoming men. Xolani is a khaukatha, or mentor, to these boys along with his childhood friend, Vija. Vija, a popular married man with children, seems to lead the life that ukwaluka promises the young boys, a life full of power and masculinity. But when Xolani’s young charge, a Westernized young boy from Johannesburg, sees more into the relationship between the two men than they would wish, Xolani’s carefully held secrets began to slip away from him. The Wound is a harsh exploration of black masculinity, homosexuality, and tradition in modern South Africa, a tale of the choices we make when the secret identities we cling to begin to unravel.