Meokgo and the Stickfighter (2006) Reviews

This short fantasy drama by South African director Teboho Mahlatsi draws both on traditional African folklore and on Mozart's The Magic Flute, telling the story of a solitary stickfighter named Kgotso, who lives in the mountains near a village. It is whispered by the villagers that his mother died in childbirth, and that the healer who raised him also died when he was only eight, bequeathing him a concertina, which he plays to bring about his only joy in life. Hired by the farmers to protect their sheep, Kgotso amuses himself during his watch by playing his beloved instrument, until one day his performance unwittingly calls about the spirit of a cursed woman, whose body lies motionless because her soul is in the captivity of an evil man. Moved by human love for the first time since he was a boy, Kgotso sets out on a brave adventure to save the mysterious woman. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi