Title: TEARS OF A SMILE (Full Story)

AKA: HIDDEN TEARS (1 & 2)

Starring:  Majid Michel, Martha Ankomah, Zynnell Lydia Zuh

Synopsis:

Jayke has it all – good looks, a family that loves him, a promising career, and Sabina for a wife. When Sabina had a life altering accident she was confined to a wheelchair for life. Jayke turned out to be the supporting and loving husband she always knew but how well did she really know him became the question.

Review:

Majid plays Jayke and Martha Ankomah plays his wife, Sabina. At first it appears that Jayke needed a kidney transplant and Sabina was willing to donate a kidney. The story then flipped to Sabina and Jayke’s wedding night and the story continued from there and the kidney storyline disappeared. It was difficult to determine what the story is really about but in the end Jayke made certain decisions and his reasoning wasn’t made clear.

Let’s Talk. The movie starts out really slow and boring. It takes over an hour and a half to generate any interest.  Making matters worse were the musical choices that didn’t correspond with the scenes. Speaking of music, this is yet another film where music diluted the dialogue. It was very possible to miss something important because it couldn’t be heard.

As for performances Majid and Martha are professionals but that doesn’t save this movie. It lacked clear direction and the story wasn’t professionally executed.

In terms of technical issues, the video had a weird coloring that’s a cross between “color” and “black and white.” I don’t know if they were trying something new, or if it was just my copy of the DVD, but the strange color didn’t complement the complexions of Black people very well. 

One of the constant problems with African films are grammatical errors. Martha and Kofi’s names are misspelled, even Pascal Amanfo’s name is incorrect and he’s the Director of the movie. Absurd. 

The one thing that’s clear is that  “Tears of a Smile” lacked substance. There are better movies out there. EJECT

NOTE: This movie is also known as “Hidden Tears.”

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