Tumbo Mtoto Mwanamke ("The Tummy Teller")

Tumbo Mtoto Mwanamke ("The Tummy Teller") (Not Rated; 93 min., English subtitles)

Originally released to Europe as the awkwardly translated "The Paunch Feeler," this Bram Van Paesschen vehicle is a quasi-documentary that tells the story of Idihi, an East African woman who has the delightful responsibility of traveling from village to village and telling pregnant women the gender of their soon-to-be-born children. The film artfully depicts Idihi's elegant dance around the women, pressing against their bellies and singing songs that describe how the baby is reacting. Baby girls, she posits, linger close to the spine in fear while boys fight off any prodding to protect their mother. At the same time, plague is drifting through East Africa and her home village, claiming children and old alike, breaking spirits and families in its wake. After a few days of weakness, Idihi realizes that she is not "suffering the plague." Rather, she is "suffering a child." As her belly grows, she becomes frustrated that she cannot tell the sex of her own baby and the implications for her business. She resolves to prepare for either gender, weaving clothes for a girl and a boy on her loom at home, etc. Van Paesschen's story and direction are convincing until the cloyingly sentimental ending (Spoiler Alert: She has twin boy and girl), which cancels all the tension built throughout the movie. In effect, Idihi's character and story have gone nowhere--save for the fact that she has two kids, a new respect for her gift, and has revived the spirit of life in her dying village. Still, the cinematography of the East African landscape is worth the price of admission. Limited release.

Graphic birthing scenes.