Netflix’s new limited series ‘The Brave Ones’ is billed as an extensive entry into South African lore, and the series delivers on that basic premise. The first sentences you hear on the show takes narrative shape, telling the story of how the titular Brave Ones were formed from the Tree of Life, to protect its great power against the greedy, capitalist-driven humans who would seek to destroy it. As a Nigerian, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Kunle Afolayan’s ‘The Figurine,’ which was similarly expository on mythology. But where that was assured and revolved around a specific neighbourhood, ‘The Brave Ones’ floundered in its early parts, too generic in overall direction and stiff with inter-character relations. 

 

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The vividness of the South African landscape provided credible backdrop for some of the scenes to come alive, but the acting and dialogue proved to be quite the obstruction. In the first episode, there were vague references like My Friend and My Uncle, giving the impression the writer didn’t quite know how to show these relationships on screen without naming its connection. The characters were likeable fortunately, especially the protagonist Ntsiki (beautifully played by Sthandile Nkosi) whose exuberant energy and androgynous fashion made her stand out from her cast mates. Her relationship with brother-in-law Nkosi (played by Bonko Khosa) develops stirringly over the now-available six episodes, as the latter tries endlessly to bring justice to the local councillor who was responsible for his activist fiance’s death. 

Any discussion of this series won’t be complete without considering its realistic aspect. Part of South Africa’s cinematic brilliance comes from its undaunted positioning of social and historical landmarks, and in this village of Ilanga, prospective investors seek to evict dwellers in order to build a casino. It’s a familiar representation of capitalism’s hard claws, but there’s even more layers to the deal as the series develops. Corrupt politicians are another trope in movies of this kind, but here, it’s well connected with the protagonist’s trajectory. When Ntsiki falls in love with the musician son of a politician, their burst of young romance colours the film with important lightness. 

These hip scenes are feel good scenes, soundtracked by the thrilling vivacity of R&B, Deep House, Kwaito, Rap, and the many other genres circulating urban South African areas. That contemporary flavour is retained in the set locations, which includes expansive balconies, filled-out bars playing karaoke, skyscraper offices. Of course, ‘The Brave One’ doesn’t know just yet that she’s the Brave One. Her powers are sought to be harnessed by a secret cult, while bulldozers raze through her village. Another woman seeks the Brave One’s blood to heal her severely sick child—it’s a thread of interwoven desires, and the writers attempt an unravelling over the six episodes. 

 

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To their credit, the unravelling isn’t always neatly done. Drama sometimes benefits from messiness, and by the fourth episode, the action is all over the place. Whereas trite affectation marked its early parts, the acting later progresses into the carefree mode of actual reality. That particular episode ends in a scene where Ntsiki uses her supernatural powers on a large scale for the first time. Afterwards the series takes a sharp turn into its supernatural side, but this time, the relative depth in the background constructs a richer story. 

Propelling this side of the story is Nomalanga Nkosi in the role of Ayanda, whose motivation is the most urgent on-screen. She has feet placed in both spiritual and physical worlds: she’d been a custodian of the Tree of Life, but abandoned the faith to pursue more conventional dreams. She didn’t just leave faith, the series exposes as she attempts to find The Brave One who will save her child. Married to the businessman behind the casino, she influences the Ilanga neighbourhood in more direct ways. 

In a stretch of poignant scenes, she summons dead relatives, pays someone to steal bracelets with supernatural powers, engages in media-savvy meetings to absolve her husband’s blame in a riot gone wrong. She then becomes a sort of anti-hero, and the viewer is soon found rooting for this woman who almost killed a baby as she sought desperate solutions to break the curse of losing her children. By the end of the sixth episode, her son becomes well—you’d expect her to stay in the background then, but there’s no suggestion of character immobility. 

 

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Boasting accomplished hands, the series is ideated and mostly directed by South African-based Nigerian filmmaker Akin Omotoso, who also directed the critically-acclaimed Disney biopic ‘Rise,’ based on NBA icon Giannis Antetokounmpo. He brings that form here, as ‘The Brave Ones’ possesses a striking cosmopolitan appeal. Many of the scenes are colour coded like high school movies, possessing the same slang-heavy language and communal habits which made for entertaining cinema as teenagers. Omotoso, who began directing films in 1994, is the son and brother of revered writers, Kole and Yewande Omotoso. The latter wrote ‘Bomboy’ which is one of my favourite African books and also features a character with a penchant (others would say curse) for stealing. Mysterious details coloured darkly the realism of that novel, and the storytelling element is wholly utilised here. 

Eventually the writing finds itself, and for those who wouldn’t bother about a genre’s conventions pointing some light down the tunnel, ‘The Brave One’ is quite immersive and divisive—it’s the kind of show that would set-off lots of conversations when watched with a group of people. Ultimately, it’s a series that identifies its vision and delivers on it. We haven’t had many feature films centred around mythology, let alone a series. The Cannes Grand Prix-winning ‘Atlantics’ (which is also available on Netflix) does a fine job of rooting Afro-spiritual ideals within class struggles, but where that film leans on poetic abstraction, ‘The Brave Ones’ exists on the punchy side, more Nnedi Okorafor than Leslie Nneka Arimah. These authors are speculative-inspired, but with distinct approaches to their work. 

‘The Brave Ones’ combines lush imagery and gritty township life, and for the most parts maintains a cohesive storyline in regards to the goddess myth at its core. Sometimes the dialogue falters, other times the action holds little believability, often the politics is surface-level, but somehow the flaws do not disrupt its quality. As opposed to great movies, the viewer is aware of this film’s fictional quality, but there’s a propulsive inner energy which keeps the viewer watching. You wouldn’t want to miss out when that energy bursts into dramatic bliss.