The Return of Sara Baartman 2003
Distributed by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court St., 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 800-876-1710
Produced by Zola Maseko and Black Roots Productions
Directed by Zola Maseko
VHS, color, 52 min.
Sr. High - Adult
African Studies, Human Rights, Women's Studies, History
Date Entered: 02/06/2004
Reviewed by Michelle L. Zafron, Health Sciences Library, University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkSara Baartman’s short life was filled with controversy and intrusive attention. Her death did not lack for them either. The Return of Sara Baartman concerns the attempts to bring Baartman’s remains back to South Africa and to give her a proper burial.
A Khoisan tribe member, Baartman was brought to Europe from Africa in the early 19th century by an Englishman, who promptly put her on exhibit as a curiosity. Europeans were fascinated by her unusual anatomy and dubbed her “the Hottentot Venus.” From most accounts, Baartman desperately wanted to go back to her home. She died in unfortunate circumstances in Paris at the age of twenty-six. The story, however, doesn’t end there. A French doctor took possession of her body, made a plaster cast of it, dissected her brain and genitals, and then proceeded to put her on display in a museum, where she remained for nearly 200 years.
That’s the back-story. The bulk of this particular film deals with the process of wresting Baartman’s remains from the French, and what was done with them once they were returned. Using a chronological framework, director Zola Maseko takes us through the events that brought sympathetic researchers, a politician, and a poet together, and then through their efforts to return Baartman’s body to South Africa.
The Return of Sara Baartman is alternately fascinating and less than compelling. While it is interesting to hear how the various parties became involved, there is some repetition. It might have made for a stronger film to hear from those opposed to Baartman’s release; the reasoning behind their refusal remains unclear. The discussions of the various parties in South Africa determining her final resting place prove engrossing. As the participants decide the details of each and every aspect of Baartman’s last rites, one would expect the minutiae to bore the viewer. However, the passion and determination present in these negotiations translates successfully to the film in a way that the pageantry surrounding the burial sometimes does not.
The documentary has striking imagery, camerawork, and music. Useful in collections supporting African studies, history, and women’s studies.