How She Move

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Other

When I first read the title of this film, the editor/ proofreader in me was itching to get a red pencil and insert an “s” after the “e” in MOVE. But after I finished watching it, I understood why.

The film opens with young Raya (Rutina Westley) and her older sister Pam doing some dance moves. The scene was interspersed with an adult Raya dancing in a dimly lit corridor. While crying. But wait! Raya has reason to cry. Her parents had spent a great deal of money, including her private school tuition, for her sister’s rehab from substance abuse. After her sister dies, Raya has to leave the boarding school and come home. But she doesn’t plan to stay long. She wants to get into medical school and would do anything just to finish high school at the private school and get into a reputable med school later on. And by anything, she meant anything. Including racking her brains off reviewing for a high school scholarship, not to mention getting into a Steps competition where she and her crew could win $50,000.

I thought, Oh, this is just great! Another hip hop movie! But as I went deeper into the story, this Sundance Film festival nominee just slammed on my face realities such as family, education, making decisions, sacrifice and life choices.

The characters in How She Move create a colorful tapestry of stories, each intertwined with the other. Raya is a strong character who, despite the loss of her sister, tries hard to keep things under control. Well, almost. When she took the scholarship exams, Raya thought she had messed things up because she felt she wasn’t prepared enough. Not wanting to make her mother worry, Raya tells her she had aced the test. But at the back of her mind, she was already trying to figure out how she could raise enough money to send herself back to boarding school. And that’s where entering the Step Monster competition came in.

Her sister’s friend, Michelle (Tre Armstrong) looks like the typical alpha female who gets threatened by the arrival of “petit bourgeois” Raya. She has her eyes set on Bishop (Dwain Murphy), who in turn only pays attention to Raya. Bishop’s brother Quake (Brennan Gademans) looks every inch the nerd. But somewhere in the movie, he surprises even his brother with his cool moves.

As in any story, the conflict always makes the plot a lot juicier. The typical elements are there—the love triangle, the parent-child conflict, the parent-parent conflict, sibling rivalry, the competition, and of course, the conflict with the self.

Raya is at odds with almost everything—her mother, her sister’s friends, her neighborhood, her boyfriend, with society, and most especially, herself. Raya’s mother didn’t want her near the “Steps people”. These were the same people her sister used to hang out with. Naturally, Raya’s mom was convinced they brought her sister to the world of drugs, which eventually led to her death. But Raya believed otherwise. Although she had the same passion for dancing as Pam, she knew in her heart that she wouldn’t make the same choice as her sister did.

But I wouldn’t blame Raya’s mom Selia (Romina D'Ugo) for behaving that way. They were a minority in a white-dominated country, their family being immigrants from Jamaica. She had just lost a daughter, and was on the brink of losing her marriage as well. She couldn’t afford to lose her dreams for her younger daughter, too.

The fact that the highlight of the film is the dance competition makes it predictable though. Of course, Raya’s crew won. And yes, she got the guy. But what gives it a happy ending is when Raya finds out that yes, she did really ace the scholarship test. And her parents begin to treat each other as husband and wife once again.

True, life is what we make it. Every day, we are faced with choices. And the choices we make can either make or break us. The exercise of our free will is what defines us as human beings. However, scripture says that our days have been ordained for us. And no matter how many times we put this free will to reckless use, God, like a good shepherd, will painstakingly lead us back to His original plan. Until such time that we get things right.

Raya took her future into her own hands when she decided to join the contest for fear that she wouldn’t get the scholarship. But she did get it. Which means she was destined to live a life different from the one her sister chose. And providence made sure she did. She was back on track. And I’m pretty sure she’ll stay there.



*Grab a VCD copy of How She Move from your neighborhood Video City shop. They’ll let you rent it for 2 nights.