Colours
We meet the
unnamed, brightly dressed protagonist of Colours during her
visit to a cemetery. She is bold and brash and quick to laugh as she talks
about her life, flitting between anecdotes about friends and neighbours.
Mentions of problems between the white, black and “coloured” (mixed race) populations and references to land grabs suggest that we are in Zimbabwe, although the
context has been left deliberately vague.
Marcella
Sant’Anna is obviously a very talented actress, but initially, her performance
feels exaggerated: her laughter just that little bit too loud; her movements
verging on parody. It is only as more of the woman’s quietly tragic back-story
is revealed that one begins to notice the subtlety contained within
Sant’Anna’s portrayal and to appreciate the reasons for its excesses.
Sant’Anna is obviously a very talented actress, but initially, her performance
feels exaggerated: her laughter just that little bit too loud; her movements
verging on parody. It is only as more of the woman’s quietly tragic back-story
is revealed that one begins to notice the subtlety contained within
Sant’Anna’s portrayal and to appreciate the reasons for its excesses.
It’s a slow-burn of a piece and deals with some uncomfortable topics, but in the end, Colours might just break your heart.
