Inspired by the true story of Kimani Maruge, a smart Kenyan villager, who calls for his right to have education at the age of 84 after the decisions of the government.
The First Grader is a self-congratulatory and subtlety-free slog that makes saints of its protagonists, devils out of its antagonists and narcoleptics out of its audience.
The filmmaking is ... uneven, filled with charming picture-postcard scenes of smiling children and African sunshine that seem crafted for a different film than one with moments of horrific flashbacks.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
May 26, 2011
The story is uplifting in a predictably pro-education, antiwar, feel-good way, warmth and humor balancing the heavy moments.
An uplifting, romanticised and gently-paced film infused with the dry beauty of the Kenyan landscape and powered by the moist-eyed performance of Oliver Litondo in the title role
