In Chloe Abrahams’ “The Taste of Mango,” three generations of women come to terms with the biggest problem in their lives; sexual abuse from a stepfather. Her first feature as a filmmaker integrates gallery video art, diacritic elements, impressionistic visuals, home movies and others that make it look like a documentary with feelings rather than facts. This is an exceptional poetic treatment of heavy stuff that stresses resilience and healing over trauma. It comes to New York and Los Angeles this week after winning some festival awards while planned on PBS’ “POV” for April 28.
Abrahams came up with the title because she knows that when her mother Rozana and grandmother Jean otherwise called Nana were pregnant, they ate lot of this fruit so the director can always “taste” them when she thinks about them. However there’s a lot of bitterness behind one sweet aspect in this line of mothership. These backgrounds only emerge during the fragments which are non-chronological by nature yet brief ones within film’s course which feels like its flowing through someone’s thought process without any rush or haste at all.
Nana was prior married in her homeland, Sri Lanka to “the only man who loved and protected her.” Unfortunately, the loving relationship ended tragically when he died aged 27. In addition she remarried, so that young Rozana would have a stepfather…unfortunately. Sometimes seen in old pictures or videos (walking her down the aisle on his behalf), grandma never talks about that particular individual. For instance, for more than four decades now she has remained his partner despite him being part of her world as can be seen from some occasional photos and videos whereby he walked Nana down the aisle during their nuptials. All we can gather is that he became an abusive husband, and a terrible provider for their home. As a matter of fact, he served jail time at one point due to what would possibly be described pedophilia now. The worst part is when this 11-year-old girl was raped by him who happened to be her step dad. The whole thing got swept under the carpet because Jean feared “shame if people knew” would come out of it publicly.
Sometimes her perspective is truly insane, but apparently it has been even more so in the past. Rozana moved to UK while pregnant with Chloe to escape partially financing this man with long-distance cash she was not happy about. However, she still had nightmares, went sleepwalking and showed other signs of PTSD. During Nana’s visit, all she did was criticize her grandchildren while at the same time never mentioning the fact that she too lived with a “monster” and witnessed his traumatic behaviors day in day out. Still during the most recent trip that is discussed at length here, she defends him using classic victim-blaming logic: “If a young girl is frisky and wants to give something, men will take anytime,” she shrugged. At the same time, the three women were getting closer to having an open discussion that they should have had all their lives. (Not even through archival clips does this film’s sharp focus allow anyone else to speak.) For years, Rozana has wanted Jeab to stop sacrificing herself, leave the hated stepfather and settle back in England with her children for good. By the end of the film, it looks like she made that jump.
Still, this trio manages moments of collective joy amid all the baggage as seen when they play around in funny wigs or sing along country songs like ‘I Never Promised You a Rose Garden…and Stand by your Man’ which inexplicably suits Nana.
There is very little given about their individual relationships, careers or anything else unrelated to this triangular matriarchy. Nevertheless,” Taste of Mango” flows freely within its thematic boundaries. Abrahams employs visual abstraction like repetitive views of flowing water as a way of giving a universal dimension to his family biography. This feeling is further emphasized through voiceovers for all participants involved in order to make the movie more personal and relatable.
The cumulative impact is both rich and simple in its approach, with the very experimental nature of it helping to bring forth more vividly the ties that were strained but also became stronger through great adversity. The story told in “Mango” is one of many possible stories. Nevertheless, this selected path feels different particularly because it reveals certain terrible realities using non-scary methods for the most fearful spectators. It’s like looking down a long dark tunnel lit from end to end.
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