The Blue Eyes of Yonta

Only the second film to emerge from Guinea-Bissau, this is an engaging domestic drama about Yonta, a young girl in love with Vicente, an older man home from the war. Vicente has other fish to fry - literally, a consignment of them to be sold - but Yonta has a secret admirer, whose florid declarations of passion are, to her embarrassment, getting read out in the local disco. Kid brother Amilcar just stands back and revels in the flying sparks. Stylistically, it's low-key, apart from the remarkable final tracking shot that comes as a genial surprise. Thanks to the diversity of the narrative, and the real presence of its leads, this state-of-Guinea domestic drama comes across as something more than Neighbours with Creole dialogue.