It is the Thursday evening before Good Friday. Everyone is gearing up for the long weekend ahead. Luther (Godfrey Odhiambo) is concluding some business on the 15th floor of one of Nairobi’s skyscrapers when nature calls. Being in unfamiliar territory, he does not know where the men’s washrooms are, and when he asks a stranger for directions, she makes a rude remark and walks away.
Luther finally finds the gents’, but to his dismay, they are locked. Desperate, he decides to steal into the ladies’ to relieve himself. The cleaning lady, believing the premises are vacant, locks up for the night. Luther finds himself marooned in the washroom with none other than the rude stranger from before whose name is Di (Gabriella Mutia). The situation is not ideal for either of them, especially not Di, who is meant to walk down the aisle on Easter Monday!
Now, Di and Luther must find a way to work through their mutual dislike for each other if they are to make their way out of this bind.
Malooned is a 105 minute-long feature film which was released on 27th April 2007. The title of the movie is a play on the word marooned, with the word “loo” inserted into it because of the setting of the story. According to the producer, Bob Nyanja, Malooned was inspired by true events in which a university professor found himself in a similar predicament, but unlike in the film, he had to endure his misadventure in solitude.
After its launch, the film was a major success. It went on to win two awards, the Silver Dhow at the Zanzibar Film Festival, and the Jury Prize at the Kenya International Film Festival. Word about this Kenyan feature film kept spreading and soon enough, Malooned landed a global deal. That same year, Pretty Pictures International, a France-based production company, acquired world rights (outside Africa) to this Kenyan comedy. The production company sealed the deal with a $2.5 million contract, a very lucrative offer since the film was produced for less than a third of this amount.
As the story line of the film unfolds, we realize that the general dislike the characters have for each other stems from ethnic stereotypes. By having the two in a confined space for quite a long time, a conversation ensues where these prejudices are unpacked and debunked. That is the message that the film’s producer tries to send through this work. The production is a clear reminder that conversation made up of active listening is a key to individual connection and ultimately national cohesion. It truly is amazing to see what Nyanja was able to accomplish with a singular location.
And now, we turn the conversation over to you; have you watched this movie? Maybe, like Di, Luther, and the unlucky professor, you have been Malooned one point in your life. Fill up the comment section with your hilarious anecdotes!
