selfsimilarity-61803399 Truly a Soul Enriching Journey: the rare piece of Cinema which might just change your interior life... to say much more than this is to take away from what Matters. My Emotional and Spiritual Journey through life is forever Sweetened by this Evocative, true-life story~ it is as if i've learned to find a Hero, all over again, for the first time.i know i can never have anything in common with this man, and yet i feel as though i love him... i would joyfully invite him into my life and would find paradise at his knee listening to him tell the stories of his life... his strength, courage, tenacity, need, and generosity of spirit make me feel shame at being human and find redemption in humanity at the same time. i've gained so much by giving just these few moments to this film, his story will stay with me until the End of Time. If there is a person on earth i admire as much as him, i've yet to meet them.

roguegrafix This is a very good movie which operates at various levels. Ostensibly about an 84 year-old man going to primary school for the first time, it also covers (in graphic detail) a dark period in Kenya's and Britain's past: The Mau Mau Rebellion.The issues raised are complex: the right for an old man to an education even if it excludes another child in a country of stretched educational resources; the fight for freedom and the integrity of an oath; and the battle against officialdom are but a few. Above all, it's a struggle against adversity on a variety of levels, both past and present.The Mau Mau Rebellion is often overlooked in histories outside Kenya and this is well portrayed in the film. At times it is frightening and certainly very threatening and the director contrasts the flashbacks of the past with those of the present.The acting, cinematography, editing are excellent. As is the beautiful yet unobtrusive soundtrack. And even though it becomes a tad clichéd, it is still an impressive and inspiring story. I was very moved by it—not least the dignity of the old man given all the injustices he suffered. Certainly worth a watch and better than a lot of movies I have seen this year.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning The Kenyan government suddenly announces free education for all- something 84 year old former Mau Mau warrior Maruge (Oliver Litondo in his debut role) takes rather literally, turning up at the run down school meant to teach six year olds to get what he should have had as a child. Meeting fierce opposition from parents and teachers, the only one who comes round to giving him a chance is teacher Jane (Naomie Harris) with whom he takes a rickety journey with various twists and turns.Justin Chadwick's little heard of drama is another drama for the 'fact is stranger than fiction' staple, detailing the true life story of Maruge who really battled for his right to what he should have been given as a youngster, and died in 2009 at the age of 89, 84 surprising enough an age given the average life expectancy for a male in Kenya can't be more than late forties?!? In all ways, it's a bizarre tale made even more bizarre by the fact it's true. But true it is, and while Chadwick's effort doesn't go beyond the genre conventions of the 'triumpth against all odds' formula, it plays to them as competently and effectively as it should, never becoming too drowned in sentiment or too clichéd and predictable to care about it. In what is ironically his debut acting role, in the lead Litondo feels very much like the character he's playing, an old and confused man with what seem to some like eccentric expectations, haunted by a devastating past he still hasn't come to terms with as a very old man, while the always impressive Harris nails the role as the driven, determined teacher.The only real, and notable, criticism of The First Grader is that it's just been done before, and doesn't really do anything to make it stand out from the loads of other films there have been about someone struggling against the odds to achieve the seemingly impossible. But as a way to take up just over an hour and a half of your time, it's a faultless and delivering enough example of the formula. ***

Red-125 The First Grader (2010), directed by Justin Chadwick, is a serious and important film that is being advertised as a feel-good movie, suitable for kids. It's an excellent movie, but not for kids. The film is a portrayal of the true story of Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, an 84-year-old Kenyan man who successfully enrolled in a first grade. Maruge is a former Mau-Mau revolutionary and prisoner of war. He was horribly tortured by the British army, but his spirit was never broken. When the Kenyan government announces "free education for all," he accepts this literally and tries to enroll in the first grade.This neglect of former revolutionaries has occurred in many countries, and, at least in the film, Kenya is no exception. As portrayed in the movie, the Kenyan government officials aren't that different from the British colonial officials, except for skin color. They're certainly not enthusiastic about large numbers of adults following Maruge's example and enrolling in school. The film is overly simplistic at times. The behavior of the dedicated teacher who accepts Maruge in her class is too good to be true, and the other education officials are all "bad-guy" cardboard cutouts. A subplot involving the teacher (Jane Obinchu) and her husband is contrived and leads nowhere.The torture scenes are horribly graphic and almost certainly realistic. (See the entry about Kenya in Wikipedia for the terrible details.) Those scenes make the movie completely unsuitable for children, in my opinion.The film is still worth seeing because it is based on a true event. Who cannot be moved by an 84-year-old who is determined to read? In addition, the acting by the two principals, Naomie Harris as the teacher Jane Obinchu, and Oliver Litondo as Kimani Manuge is superb.Although the film will work better on a large screen, it will definitely be worth seeing on DVD as well. Seek it out--it's worth the effort.