Based on the memoir by Alexandra Fuller about her childhood as a white child growing up in Africa, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is an extraordinary film helmed by child actor Lexi Venter, who is just 7 or 8 years old herself based on conflicting reports found online. 

 

The gorgeously shot and directed film tackles tough topics such as the violent Bush War, African politics and racism along with personal family traumas like an alcoholic and neglectful mentally ill mother, the death of a younger sibling and associated guilt, and an attempted sexual assault on an older sister by a drunken adult male friend of the parents.

 

The magic of the film is that these difficult themes are seen through the eyes of Bobo, an 8-year-old child, and therefore are imbued with a sense of childlike innocence. We are aware of threats lurking in the bush, both by day and by night, represented by a light flashing on a hillside, scorpions and snakes, and the ever-present guns held by the parents and even Bobo herself. However, because Bobo is largely unafraid and innocent, the tension of the film dissipates each time she finds happiness in singing bawdy songs with her sister, dancing with her mom or playing with the family’s dogs.

 

We see that Bobo is desperately lonely, neglected and hungry for attention and affection - but the film never veers too far into melancholy or sadness, rather juxtaposing joyful moments such as an African choir singing by the side of the road as the family drives  by, or Bobo playing dress-up with her beloved African nanny, Sarah.

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The conflicts between white settlers and the Africans who were there first - called “terrorists” by Bobo’s parents - are skillfully depicted, as is the ubiquitous racism. 

 

“Are we racist?” Bobo innocently asks, only to have her grandmother and mother say “of course not! Some people are, but not us.”

 

At the same time, the white parents imperially order around their African servants and tell their children they don’t have to call African adults “uncle” and “aunt” the way they do with white adults in their lives. 

 

In one particularly hard to watch scene, Bobo and her mother come across African squatters on their farmland while out riding their horses. The mother attempts to drive the family off with angry, insulting words and threats of violence. The Africans fight back, arguing that it is actually their land, not hers. Bobo begs her mother to stop, but is ignored like always. It is a heartbreaking scene.

 

The stunning performance of young Lexi Venter throughout this film must be seen to be believed. The visual of this beautiful but perpetually scruffy small child, riding through the African bush on a motorcycle, barefoot and tangle-haired with a rifle slung around her body, is one I won’t soon forget.

 

Likewise, South African actress and director Embeth Davidtz was spectacular in all three of her roles as the director, co-writer and on-screen performance as the tormented mother in the film.

 

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight was a compelling enough movie that I will be seeking out Alexandra Fuller’s memoir in order to glean even more of her story. This film will appeal to those fascinated by history, memoirs about growing up in other countries, and political and cultural affairs.