Zulu Love Letter expands the repertoire of films often labeled "Truth and Reconciliation films" in its portrayal of Thandeka Khumalo, a political activist, journalist, and mother. Her painful journey recognizes the moral ambivalence of a victim who has to learn to forgive herself for a past for which she holds herself responsible. With its frequent temporal shifts, highly subjective point of view, and self-conscious narration, the film employs a "modernist" representational style that intends to represent the trauma of the past and its post-traumatic resonance in the present. Such a visual landscape, however, also challenges the audience's ability (and willingness) to engage with a character whose testimony already threatens their sense of moral order and human compassion. In this article, I examine the aesthetic and ethical challenges of rendering personal pain accessible to an audience often far removed from the experience of the victim.
