The Wound

Xolani is a lonely factory worker in the Eastern Cape. Every year he takes leave to attend the Xhosa initiation into manhood, where he guides a young man. This year he is given Kwanda, who has come from Johannesburg: urban, wealthy, and openly defiant of the rules. Kwanda soon notices that Xolani is hiding something: he never tells anyone the real reason he comes back each year. John Trengove's film does not reject the tradition but questions the construction of masculinity inside it. The narrative turns among three people, each using another's secret for a different reason. The mountain camp is both protective and threatening. Nakhane plays Xolani. The film met with a fierce reaction in South Africa; on appeal, the classification board gave it the rating reserved for pornography and it was removed from cinemas. The cast received death threats. Who it's for: Viewers who like South African cinema, queer narratives, and drama about tradition and identity. Who it's not for: The violence and the final section are very harsh. The way the film depicts a community's closed ceremony is also contested.