The
notion of a country still governed by a Politburo sounds ominously anachronistic,
but such is very definitely the case in Zimbabwe. Deliberately following the
old Soviet system, Robert Mugabe and his oligarchical socialist ZANU-PF party
have maintained a stifling hold on power in the African nation, since 1980. The
only hiccup in Mugabe’s dictatorship happened in 2008. Outraged by blatantly rigged
elections, the international community forced Mugabe to form a coalition
government with his chief opposition, the MDC-T. Even though Mugabe and his
party clearly consider this a coalition in name only, they agree to participate
in the drafting of a new constitution. Camilla Nielsson documents the fraught
negotiations of the rival co-chairs in Democrats,
which screens today as the Best Documentary Feature Award winner at the
2015 Tribeca Film Festival.
Paul
Mangwana is the ZANU-PF co-chair, who expects to win over the opposition with a
smile and a handshake. After all, he has always gotten his way through charm
before. Of course, being an influential member of the ruling party hasn’t hurt
either. In contrast, Douglas Mwonzora is a human rights lawyer who has already
seen the insides of Zimbabwe’s most appalling prisons. In fact, he will find
himself back behind bars on trumped up charges during crucial stages of the
drafting process.
For
obvious reasons, the two appointees begin their co-chairmanships very wary of
each other. Nonetheless, familiarity slowly builds camaraderie. Eventually,
they start to agree on ostensibly nonpartisan building blocks. Unfortunately
for Mangwana, when a misunderstanding angers his ZANU-PF patrons, the
respective co-chairs experience a drastic reversal of fortune. For a while,
Mangwana was literally afraid for his life. Frankly, he probably still should
be.
If
you outlined the structure of Democrats,
it would look like an inspiring story, in which former adversaries come
together to craft an agreement for the national good. However, the film’s last
fifteen minutes completely undercut any possible uplift. It is made abundantly
clear to both Mangwana and the audience constitutional democracy requires more
than just a paper constitution. If the powers that be refuse to accept legal
curbs on their powers than where are you? Possibly Zimbabwe.
Yes,
Democrats gives the audience a bitter
pill to swallow, but there is something both chilling and electrifying about
Nielsson’s truth telling. Through her direct style of filmmaking, we see Mugabe’s
evil nature for what it is, because he never hides it. There are no voiceovers
or academic commentators in the film, but Nielsson and editor Jeppe Bødskov
shape it into a tight, tense, easily-followed narrative. There is no sitting
around waiting for things to happen and the stakes steadily rise throughout.
